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Early Methodism" 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



APR 4 1884 



WESLEY 



EARLY METHODISM: 



HISTORICAL TEXT-BOOK 



ANGELA K. DAVIS. 



NEW YORK: 
PHILLIPS & HUNT. 

CINCINNATI: 
WALDEN & STOWE. 

1834. 



AND 



AN 



FOR 



BY 





Copyright 1884s by 
PHILLIPS & HUNT, 
New York. 



PREFACE AND DEDICATION. 



rpHIS little book is affectionately dedL 
cated to the members of the Wesley 
Literary Circle of St. John's Methodist 
Episcopal Church, Batavia, N. Y., with 
whom I have enjoyed meeting from week 
to week for the purpose of studying the 
Life of Wesley, and the Origin and Growth 
of Methodism. 

To meet our wants from time to time a 
series of questions and answers was pre- 
pared, culled from our standard authors, 
which, with additions, is now presented in 
a more permanent form, with the hope that 
it may be received ' c with all readiness of 
mind," and with earnest purpose to search 
" the Scriptures daily, whether these things 
[be] so." 

As it has been possible in such a small 
compass to only glance at the more salient 
points in the development of Methodism, 



4 PREFACE AND DEDICATION. 



my devout hope is that this little text-book 
will be but the beginning of study, a " step- 
ping-stone," creating a desire among the 
members of the " Circle " to know more 
of the history of the Church ; influencing 
them to read the works from which it has 
been chiefly compiled, namely: Porter's 
" Compendium of Methodism ; " Stevens's 
" History of Methodism;" Watson's "Life 
of Wesley ; " Tyerman's " Life and Times 
of Wesley;" Daniels's "Illustrated Histo- 
ry of Methodism ; " Stevens's " Women of 
Methodism ; " and Stevens's " Centenary of 
American Methodism." 

As you become more and more conver- 
sant with the polity and usages of our par- 
ticular branch of the Church, may you 
strive to emulate the virtues of its founder 
and his helpers, be made partakers of an 
inward and vital religion, and thus be 
brought into closer and closer communion 
with the great Head of the Church. 

Angela Kikkham Davis. 

Batavia, N. T., 1883. 



"The study of Methodistic history confirms our faith 
in God's providential regard for, and rule over, our 
world aud our race. To me this lesson is as powerfully 
taught by it, as by the history of the Jewish nation." — 
Dr. Thomas Guard. 



"Our main doctrines, which include all the rest, are: 
Repentance, Faith and Holiness. The first we account, 
as it were, the porch of religion; the next, the door; 
the third, religion itself." — John Wesley. 



AND 



"WESLEY 

EARLY METHODISM. 



CHAPTER I. 

1. Where and when were John and Charles 
Wesley horn f 

In Ep worth, Lincolnshire, England. John 
in 1703, and Charles, the poet, in 1708. 

2. What is known of the Wesleys^ ances- 
tors ? 

They were of the highest respectability, 
in the south of England, and can be traced 
as far back as the fourteenth century ; find- 
ing in almost every generation an eminent 
clergyman and scholar. 

3. Who were their parents f 

Their father was the Rev. Samuel Wes- 
ley, rector of Epworth and Wroot about 
forty years, a man of great practical piety, 



8 WESLEY AXD EARLY METHODISM. 



and distinguished for the zeal and fidelity 
with which he discharged his parish duties. 
He died in 1735, aged seventy-two years. 
Their mother, Mrs. Susanna Wesley, daugh- 
ter of the Rev. Dr. Annesley, was educated 
with great care, being well versed in the 
Latin, Greek, and French languages ; a wom- 
an of extraordinary worth, and distinguished 
for her rare intellectual piety and domestic 
management. She died in London, in 1742, 
aged seventy-eight years. 

4. Give some ^a^Uaidws of the Wesley 
family. 

Rev. Samuel Wesley and Susanna Annes- 
ley were married in 1689, he being twenty- 
seven and she about twenty years old. 
They had nineteen children, though only 
ten survived their infancy, three sons and 
seven daughters growing to maturity. They 
all possessed unusual talents, and all of the 
sons became ministers of the Established 
Church. Dr. Adam Clarke says : " This 
great family of little children were won- 
derfully gentle and polite, not only to their 



WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 9 



parents and visitors, but to each other and 
their servants as well, and they had the 
common fame of being the most loving 
family in Lincolnshire." 

5. Give some details of their elementary 
education. 

Each child was taught the Lord's Prayer 
as soon as it could speak, and repeated it 
every morning and evening. It was Mrs. 
Wesley's custom to begin their secular ed- 
ucation at five years old, and from this 
time they studied regularly in the family 
school. They were taught the letters of 
the alphabet in one day, a task which all of 
them accomplished except two daughters, 
who were a day and a half. One of the 
daughters was able to read the New Testa- 
ment in Greek when she was eight years 
old. Six hours a day were spent in school, 
it being opened and closed with singing a 
psalm ; and in addition to this, after school, 
the oldest took the youngest that could 
speak, and the second the next, to whom 
they read the psalm for the day and a chap- 



10 WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 



ter in the New Testament. Mrs. Wesley her- 
self also conversed each evening with one 
of her children on religions subjects, and 
on some evenings with two, so as to talk 
with each one once a week. Notwithstand- 
ing their poverty and other depressing cir- 
cumstances, she kept herself so far in ad- 
vance of her college-bred sons, especially in 
things pertaining to the word and king- 
dom of God, that for years she was their ac- 
knowledged spiritual counselor and guide. 
Among other helpful things she wrote for 
them some most admirable expositions of 
Scripture and of portions of the Common 
Prayer.* John Wesley, " who became dis- 
tinguished for his almost inimitable skill as 
a logician, who could win a victory in a de- 
bate with fewer words and in better tem- 
per than any other man of his time, must 
have inherited this logical power and this 
amiable sharpness from his admirable moth- 
er." The Epworth rectory presents the pict- 

* For a very interesting account of Mrs. Susanna Wes- 
ley, see " The Women of Methodism," by Dr. A. Stevens. 



WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 11 

ure of a domestic Church, a family school, 
and a genuine old English household. 

6. What remarkable incident occurred in 
John Wesley's life at six years of age ? 

In consequence of some political disturb- 
ance, the rectory was set on fire in the 
dead of a winter's night. The father was 
awakened by the fire coming into his cham- 
ber, through the thatched roof, and hastily 
arousing his family, they fled down stairs, 
and with great difficulty escaped with their 
lives. But little John was missing. The 
frantic father tried several times to pass up 
the stairs to rescue him, but in vain. He 
returned in despair, and kneeling down, 
committed the soul of his child to God, 
when suddenly he appeared, crying for help, 
at the window of his chamber, beneath 
which two peasants placed themselves, one 
on the shoulders of the other, and saved 
him, the moment the blazing mass of the 
roof fell in. " Come, neighbors," his father 
exclaimed, as he received his son, " let us 
kneel down ; let us give thanks to God ! 



12 WESLEY AN T D EARLY METHODISM. 

he lias given me all my eight children ; let 
the house go ; I am rich enough." 

7, How did this affect John Wesley's 
mother ? 

She felt as if she ought to devote herself 
with special care to the training of this 
son. In her private Journal these words 
are found: "I do intend to be more par- 
ticularly careful of the soul of this child, 
that Thou hast so mercifully provided for, 
than ever I have been ; that I may do my 
endeavor to instill into his mind the prin- 
ciples of true religion and virtue. Lord, 
give me grace to do it sincerely and pru- 
dently, and bless my attempts with good 
success." 

8. For what was John Wesley remarkable 
in early childhood f 

For his sober and studious disposition, 
seeming to feel himself answerable to his 
reason and his conscience for every act, 
doing nothing without first reflecting on its 
fitness and propriety. Such was his con- 
sistency of conduct that his father admit- 



WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 13 



ted him to the communion table when he 
was only eight years old. 

9. In what school was he placed at eleven 
years of age ? 

He passed from under the tutelage of his 
accomplished mother and became a pupil at 
the Charter-House School,* London, under 
that eminent scholar, Dr. Walker. Here, 
notwithstanding he had to suffer many hard- 
ships and privations, and endure wrongs and 
insults, he was noticed for his diligence and 
progress in learning. But though he was 
only sixteen years of age when he left, he 
had, by his energy of character, his uncon- 
querable patience, and his assiduity, become 
a favorite with the master and acquired a 
high position among his fellows. 

* At this school forty- two boys, as charity scholars, 
were to be maintained. The allowance from the endow- 
ment to each scholar was forty pounds a year. It was 
no small piece of good fortune to the Epworth rector to 
secure one of these scholarships for his son John, for 
which they were indebted to the friendly services of the 
Duke of Buckingham, at that time Lord Chamberlain of 
the royal household. 



14: WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 

10. Did he retain the religious traits 
which had marked his character from the 
days of infancy ? 

Mr. "Wesley writes in his Journal con- 
cerning this period of his history : " Out- 
ward restraints being removed, I was much 
more negligent than before, even of out- 
ward duties, and almost continually guilty 
of outward sins, which I knew to be such, 
though they were not scandalous in the eye 
of the world. However, I still read the 
Scriptures and said my prayers morning 
and evening. And what I now hoped to 
be saved by was, first, not being so bad as 
other people ; second, having still a kindness 
for religion ; and, third, reading the Bible, 
going to Church, and saying my prayers." 

11. What happened to him when he was 
seventeen years of age ? 

17 20. He was admitted to Christ Church, 
Oxford, one of the noblest colleges in that 
illustrious seat of learning, and remained 
there five years. He was placed under the 
care of Dr. Wigan, a gentlemen of great 



WESLEY AND EAELY METHODISM. 15 



classical knowledge, and pursued his studies 
with much energy. The excellent use he 
had made of his time at the Charter-House, 
gained for him a high position at Oxford, 
and he soon became quite famous for his 
learning in the classics, and especially for 
his skill in logic. 

12. What does Mr. Babcock say of him 
when he was twenty-one years old ? 

r He was a sensible and acute theologian, 
a young fellow of the finest classical taste, of 
the most liberal and manly sentiments." 
His perfect knowledge of the classics gave a 
smooth polish to his wit, and an air of su- 
perior elegance to all his compositions. 

13. What did Mrs. Wesley write to her 
sons while they were at Oxford f 

" Now, in good earnest, resolve to make 
religion the business of your life ; for, after 
all, that is the one thing that, strictly speak- 
ing, is necessary. All things besides are 
comparatively little to the purposes of life. 
I heartily wish you would now enter upon 
a strict examination of yourself, that you 



16 WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 

may know whether you have a reasonable 
hope of salvation by Jesus Christ. If you 
have it, the satisfaction of knowing it will 
abundantly reward your pains ; if you have 
it not, you will find a more reasonable oc- 
casion for tears than can be met with in any 
tragedy." 

14. When purposing to take deacon ] s or- 
derSj what did he do ? 

He was aroused from the religious care- 
lessness into which he had fallen at college, 
and applied himself diligently to the read- 
ing of divinity. 

15. What hooks now occupied his atten- 
tion ? 

" The Imitation of Christ," by Kempis, 
and Bishop Taylor's " Kules of Holy Liv- 
ing and Dying," among the most spirit- 
ual and heart-searching books of the age. 
These made a deep impression and aroused 
his whole soul to the subject. They seem 
to have been the first books on practical 
divinity he had read, and to the day of his 
death were held in high esteem. If Kem- 



WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 17 

pis and Taylor were right, he was wrong. 
In his extremity, like a true son, not spoiled 
by a college course, he wrote to his parents, 
stating his difficulties, and received very 
able and interesting responses from each of 
them. 

16. What was the result of his reading 
Thomas a Kempis J s "Christian Pattern f " 

To this incident we are indebted for 
Wesley's long-continued record of the events 
and exercises of his daily life, as he began 
to take a more exact account of the man- 
ner wherein he spent his time, writing 
down how he employed every hour, thus 
giving to the world one of. the most inter- 
esting works in the English language. 

17. What was another and far more 
important result of reading Kempis and 
Taylor? 

1725. An entire change of life. He says 
in reference to Taylor's " Holy Living and 
Dying : " " In reading several parts of this 
book, I was exceedingly affected with that 
part in particular which relates to purity 
2 



18 WESLEY AND EAKLY METHODISM. 

of intention. Instantly I resolved to dedi- 
cate all my life to God — all my thoughts, 
and words, and actions — being thoroughly 
convinced that there is no medium, but 
that every part of my life must either be a 
sacrifice to God, or to myself ; that is, in 
effect, to the devil." 

18. Did this seem to ~be a turning-point 
in Wesley's life f 

Yes ; although it was not until thirteen 
years after this that he received the con- 
sciousness of being saved through faith in 
Christ. But from this time his whole aim 
was to serve God, and to get safe to heaven. 
No man could have been more sincere, ear- 
nest, devout, diligent, and self-denying ; and 
yet, during this long period, he lived and 
labored in a mist. 



WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 19 



CHAPTEK. II. 

1. When was John Wesley ordained dea- 
con in the Established Church ? 

Having prepared himself with the most 
conscientious care for the ministerial office, 
he was ordained deacon on Sunday, Sep- 
tember 19, 1725. 

2. What noted infidel was contempora- 
neous with Wesley f 

It is rather a remarkable circumstance 
that just about the time of Wesley's 
ordination Voltaire was expelled from 
France, and fled to England ; and during 
a long life he and Wesley were contempo- 
raneous. 

3. Give Tyermans graphic description 
m the "Life and Times of Wesley" of the 
two men. 

"Perhaps of all the men then living 
none exercised so great an influence as the 



20 WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 

restless philosopher, arid the unwearied 
minister of Christ. No men, however, 
could be. more dissimilar. Wesley, in per- 
son, was beautiful ; Voltaire was of a physi- 
ognomy so strange, and lighted up with fire 
so half -hellish and half -heavenly, that it was 
hard to say whether it was the face of a 
satyr or a man. Wesley's heart was filled 
with a world-wide benevolence ; Voltaire, 
though of a gigantic mind, scarcely had a 
heart at all — an incarnation of avaricious 
meanness, and a victim to petty passions. 
Wesley was the friend of all and the enemy 
of none ; Voltaire was too selfish to love, 
and when forced to pay the scanty and ill- 
tempered homage, which he sometimes ren- 
dered, it was always offered at the shrine of 
rank and wealth. Wesley had myriads who 
loved him; Voltaire had numerous admir- 
ers, but probably not a friend. Both were 
men of ceaseless labor, and almost unequaled 
authors; but while the one filled the land 
with blessings, the other, by his sneering and 
mendacious attacks against revealed relig- 



WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 21 

ion, inflicted a greater curse than has been 
inflicted by the writings of any other au- 
thor either before or since. The evangelist 
is now esteemed by all whose good opin- 
ions are worth having ; the philosopher is 
only remembered to be branded with well- 
merited reproach and shame." 

4. Where did Wesley preach his first 
sermon f 

In a small village, called South Leigh, 
in 1726. Forty-six years afterward he 
preached in the same place, when there was 
one man present who had been a member 
of his first congregation. 

5. What did he succeed in obtaining in 
1726? 

One of the twelve fellowships of Lincoln 
College, one of the smallest, poorest, and 
most scholarly of the nineteen colleges 
which are comprised in the University of 
Oxford. This permitted him to devote his 
life to the duties of a Christian minister 
and scholar. The room occupied by him 
is still called Wesley's room, and a vine 



22 WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 

creeping around its window is called "Wes- 
ley's vine. 

6. What degree did he take in 1727 \ 
That of Master of Arts, having already 

been chosen as " Lecturer in Greek, and 
Moderator of the Classes." His position as 
Greek lecturer attracted to him persons 
who, like himself, read the Greek Testa- 
ment for devotion, as well as a number of 
private pupils, who sought his assistance. 
In Hebrew he was one of the best scholars 
of his time. It is evident Wesley was a 
distinguished scholar at Oxford, and had 
won all these scholastic honors before he 
was twenty-five years old. 

7. What was his plan of study when he 
was twenty-four years old ? 

Mondays and Tuesdays he devoted to the 
Greek and Roman classics, historians, and 
poets ; Wednesdays to logic and ethics ; 
Thursdays to Hebrew and Arabic ; Fridays 
to metaphysics and natural philosophy ; 
Saturdays to oratory and poetry, chiefly 
composing ; and Sundays to divinity. In 



WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 23 

intermediate hours, he perfected himself in 
the French language ; sometimes amused 
himself with experiments in optics and in 
mathematics, studied Euclid, Keil, and Sir 
Isaac Newton. 

8. What was his manner of reading ? 
First, he read an author regularly through, 

and then transcribed, in a commonplace 
book, such passages as he thought impor- 
tant or beautiful. In this way he greatly 
increased his stock of knowledge and inured 
himself to hard working. 

9. What books were put into his hands 
at this time, and of what was he con- 
vinced ? 

Law's " Christian Perfection," and " Seri- 
ous Call." He was more convinced than 
ever of the absolute impossibility of being 
half a Christian, and he determined, through 
his grace, to be all devoted to God, to give 
him his soul, body, and substance. He not 
only read, but studied, the Bible as the one, 
the only standard of truth and the only 
model of pure religion. 



24 WESLEY A^'D EARLY METHODISM, 



10. Wtcy did he return to Lincolnshire 
at this time? . 

His father, being advanced in years, invit- 
ed him to become his curate at Epworth 
and Wroote. He remained here about two 
years, dividing his time between Oxford 
and Epworth, and pursuing his studies in 
practical divinity with his mother. 

11. When and hy whom was he ordained 
priest in the Established Church? 

In 172$. by Bishop Potter, of Oxford, a 
man of ^reat talent and learning a hio*h- 
churchman, who maintained that episco- 
pacy was of divine institution, and yet one 
who cherished a friendly feeling toward 
the first Methodists, saying, concerning 
them, " These gentleman are irregular ; but 
they have done good; and I pray God to 
bless them." 

12. What advice did the Bishop give 
Mr. Wesley, for ichich he was always 
thankful ? 

That if he wished to be extensively use- 
ful, he must not spend his time in contend- 



WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 25 

ing for or against tilings of a disputable 
nature, but in testifying against notorious 
vice, and in promoting real, essential holi- 
ness. 

13. Did Mr. Wesley remain long in 
Epworth ? 

No, he returned to Oxford, at the call 
of the rector of his college, and, besides 
attending to the duties of his office, be- 
came tutor to various pupils placed under 
his care and labored assiduously for their 
welfare. 

11. What remarkable expertness did he 
acquire while in Lincoln College ? 

1729. Presiding as moderator in the dis- 
putations, six of which were held weekly, 
he acquired the remarkable expertness in 
arguing, and in discerning and pointing 
out well-concealed and plausible fallacies, 
which distinguished him to the end of 
life. 

15. Upon his return to Oxford, what did 
he find his brother Charles doing f 

In 1729, standing vigorously against the 



26 WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 

tide of infidelity which was setting in upon 
the students on all sides. 

16. What had he organized while his 
brother was at Epworthf 

Charles and a few friends had organized a 
"Holy Club," for mutual assistance both in 
scholarship and in piety. For the improve- 
ment of their minds they agreed to spend 
a few evenings in the week together in 
reading the Greek Testament, Greek and 
Latin classics, and, on Sunday evenings, 
divinity. For the improvement of their 
souls they adopted a set of rales for holy 
living, including the exact observance of all 
the duties set forth in the Prayer Book of 
the English Church, fasting Wednesday and 
Friday of each week, and observing the 
weekly sacrament. 

17. What else did they do besides having 
frequent meetings for study and devotion- 
al exercises ? 

They began a systematic visitation of the 
poor and sick, devoting certain hours to 
the instruction of children, and extended 



WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 27 



their charity to the poor debtors in Bo- 
cardo. * 

18. Why did their conduct attract atten- 
tion? 

Because religion was in such a low state, 
there being little of it in the community, 
except the form, and scarcely enough of 
that to meet the claims of municipal law 
or the rules of the University. The Church 
of England, at that time, like that of La- 
odicea, though proud of its traditions, its 
wealth, and its power, "was wretched, and 
miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked." 
The masses were so sunk in ignorance and 
atheism, that they hardly knew, or boldly 
denied, that they had any souls to save. 
Of the prominent statesmen of the time, 

* This Bocardo was a room in use, at that time, as the 
debtors' prison at Oxford. It was at this place that 
Archbishop Cranmer was led forth to martyrdom, in 
1656, after having been taken up to the top of the 
tower of St. Michael's Church, adjoining the prison, 
to witness the burning of Ridley and Latimer, in or- 
der that the sight of their sufferings might move him to 
recant. 



28 WESLEY AND EABLY METHODISM. 

the greater part were unbelievers in any 
form of Christianity and distinguished for 
their grossness and the immorality of their 
lives. 

19. Were there no faithf ul servants of 
the Lord left? 

Yes, there were a few noble and grand 
exceptions, both among the clergy of the 
Establishment and the ministry of the Non- 
conformist Churches. But Rev. Augus- 
tus Toplady, a minister of the Church of 
England, who died in 1778, said, in a 
sermon not long before his death : " I 
believe that no denomination of professing 
Christians, the Church of Eome excepted, 
was so generally void of the light and 
life of godliness, so generally destitute of 
the doctrine and of the grace of the Gos- 
pel, as was the Church of England, con- 
sidered as a body, about fifty years ago. 
At that period a converted minister in the 
Establishment was as great a wonder as a 
comet." 

20. What was the spiritual condition of 



WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 29 



the Dissenters — that is, the Presbyterians, 
Independents, and Baptists? 

Though less conformed to this world, 
they were constrained to mourn over the 
wastes in Zion. Many of their ministers 
were immoral and negligent of their duty, 
spending their time iu sports and revels, or 
in scrambling for the best- paying pastorates 
in their respective Churches, with much of 
the same spirit as that which they so bit- 
terly denounced in the clergy of the Estab- 
lished Church. 

21. Who were raised up in the midst of 
this spiritual darkness f 

God raised up a Bishop — John Wesley, 
one of the greatest religious legislators of 
history. A Preacher — George Whitefield, 
the greatest pulpit orator of the age, or 
of any age. A Poet — Charles Wesley, a 
hymnist whose supremacy has been but 
doubtfully disputed by a single rival. Three 
men whose equals have probably never been 
seen in the world at once since the apos- 
tolic days. 



30 WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 

22. What were the menibers of the Holy 
Club called ? 

Methodists, in allusion to the exact and 
methodical manner in which they performed 
their various engagements. 

23. How did it affect them to be called 
Methodists ? 

Taking no offense at any thing, and see- 
ing that their new name expressed in a 
word exactly what they would be in life 
and godliness, they accepted it in all cheer- 
fulness, as their successors have done, hoping 
never to dishonor it. 

24. What is said of this little company, 
and what truth did it illustrate f 

It is full of interest, being a checkered 
page, showing the enmity of the carnal 
mind, and illustrating the truth of the dec- 
laration, " All that will live godly in Christ 
Jesus shall suffer persecution ;" but not more 
fully than it confirms the encouraging an- 
nouncement of the Holy Spirit, " He that 
goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious 
seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoic- 



WESLEY AND EAELY METHODISM. 31 

ing, bringing liis sheaves with him." The 
conflict was severe, but they succeeded. 
Many were benefited by their endeavors, 
and they received a hundred-fold in disci- 
pline for the more difficult achievements of 
coming days.* 

25. What parish was offered Mr. Wes- 
ley at this time, and why did he not ac- 
cept f 

His father, now getting old, was very 
anxious his son should succeed him in the 
Epworth rectorship. But, as he was the 
master spirit of the " Holy Club," his ab- 
sence from Oxford for a few weeks was 
attended with serious consequences, which 
compelled him to see the importance of his 
presence ; consequently his sense of duty re- 
quired him to refuse his father's offer and 
still cleave to his pupils and the little society 
with which he was surrounded. 

*For interesting details of the " Holy Club," see Tyer- 
man's " Life and Times of John Wesley," vol. i. 



32 WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 



CHAPTEE III. 

1. What appointment was offered Wes- 
ley in 1735? 

General Oglethorpe, whom Wesley met 
in London about this time, strongly urged 
him to undertake a mission to the infant 
colony of Georgia. 

2. In advising with his mother, {his fa- 
ther had died but a few months before^) what 
answer did she give him, and what was the 
result ? 

She answered in these memorable words : 
" Had I twenty sons, I should rejoice that 
they were all so employed, though I should 
never see them more." After mature de- 
liberation he concluded to accept the po- 
sition. 

3. Under whose auspices did he go, and 
who accompanied him f 

He was sent out by the English " Society 



WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 33 



for the Propagation of the Gospel in For- 
eign Parts,"* as a kind of missionary chap- 
lain, at a salary of fifty pounds a year. He 
was accompanied by his brother Charles, 
and two other young men. 

4. What of their success, and how long 
did they remain in America f 

They were not as successful as they an- 
ticipated, particularly among the Indians, 
and their conflicts and sufferings were great. 
They only remained about two years, and 
returned to England. 

5. What was Mr. Wesley^s religious 
experience at this time? 

Anxious as he had been to be wholly the 
Lord's, profound as he was in divinity, and 
scrupulously as he had lived in all godliness 
and honesty, yet he was ignorant and inex- 
perienced in justification by faith and the re- 
newing of the Holy Ghost. He had worked 
and suffered for salvation, but had not be- 
lieved with a heart unto righteousness. He 

♦For an interesting account of this Society, see Tyer- 
man, vol. i. 
3 



34 WESLEY £HJ) EARLY METHODISM. 



hoped that he was a Christian, but had no 
joyful assurance of it, and, therefore, was 
more of a servant than a swi of God, and 
was influenced more by fear than love. 

6. rFAa£ incidents happened on his voy- 
age to Georgia that revealed to Mr. Wesley 
his spiritual condition f 

The conduct of twenty-six German Mo- 
ravians who were on board the vessel, the 
existence of fear in his own heart, and the 
exhibition of peculiar graces in the Mora- 
vians, gave him much trouble. He partic- 
ularly noticed their acts of kindness toward 
the other passengers, giving continual proofs 
of their humility by performing servile 
offices, which none of the English would 
undertake, desiring and receiving no pay. 
If they were ridiculed, pushed, struck, or 
thrown down, there was no complaint made, 
seeming to be delivered from the spirit of 
pride, anger, and revenge. An incident 
happened which showed that they were also 
delivered from the spirit of fear. On one 
occasion the ship encountered a storm, the 



WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 35 

winds roared, and the ship rocked to and fro 
witli the utmost violence ; just as the Mora- 
vians were beginning their evening service, 
as usual, singing a psalm of praise, the sea 
broke over, split the mainsail in pieces, cov- 
ered the ship, and poured in between the 
decks, as if the great deep had already swal- 
lowed them up. A great screaming began 
among the English, but the Germans calm- 
ly sung on. Afterward Mr. Wesley asked 
them if they were not afraid. " I thank 
God, no," was the reply. "But," he asked, 
" were not your women and children 
afraid ? " " No ; our women and children 
are not afraid to die." 

7. What facts indicated the remarkable 
powers of mind possessed by Mr. Wesley f 

While on shipboard he commenced the 
study of the German language, that he 
might converse with and preach to the Ger- 
mans, and when he reached Savannah he 
found Frenchmen, Italians, and also Spanish 
Jews, to whom he learned to preach in 
their own language. 



36 WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 

8. How does Mr. Wesley state, in Ms 
Journal, the result of his study and obser- 
vation on his own heart during his ab- 
sence ? 

January 8, 1738, lie wrote : " By tlie most 
infallible of proofs, inward feeling, I am 
convinced, 1st. Of unbelief ; having no 
such faith in Christ as will prevent my 
heart from being troubled. 2d. Of pride, 
throughout my past life; inasmuch as I 
thought I had, what I find I have not. 
3d. Of gross irrecollection ; inasmuch as in 
a storm I cry to God every moment, in a 
calm not. 4th. Of levity and luxuriancy of 
spirit ; appearing by my speaking words not 
tending to edify ; but most by the manner 
of my speaking of my enemies. Lord, save, 
or I perish ! " 

9. How did he want to be saved? 

" Save me, 1st. By such a faith as implies 
peace in life and death. 2d. By such hu- 
mility as may fill my heart from this hour 
forever with a piercing, uninterrupted sense 
that hitherto I have done nothing. 3d. By 



WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 37 

such a recollection as may enable me to cry- 
to thee every moment. 4th. By steadiness, 
seriousness, sobriety of spirits, avoiding, as 
tire, every word that tendeth not to edify, 
and never speaking of any who oppose me, 
or sin against God, without all my own sins 
set in array before my face." 

10. On arriving home from America,, 
and reviewing his own religious life, in 
comparison with that of his German 
friends, what did he write again f 

u And now, it is upward of two years 
since I left my own country, to teach the 
Georgian Indians the nature of Christianity, 
but I have learned that I, who went to 
America to convert others, was never con- 
verted myself; that I am 'fallen short of 
the glory of God ; 5 that my whole heart is 
'altogether corrupt and abominable; 5 that, 
having the sentence of death in my heart, 
and having nothing in or of mj'self to plead, 
I have no hope but that of being justified 
freely 4 through the redemption that is in 
Jesus ; 5 I have no hope but that if I seek, 



38 WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 

I shall find the Christ, and 'be found in 
him, not having my own righteousness, but 
that which is of God by faith. 5 " 

11. If it he said he had faith, what was 
his answer ? 

"So have the devils a sort of faith ; but 
still they are strangers to the covenant of 
promise. So the apostles had, even at Cana 
in Galilee, when Jesus first 'manifested 
forth his glory ; ' even then they, in a sort, 
i believed on Him ; ' but they had not then 
4 the faith that overcometh the world.' " 

12. What kind of faith did he want f 

" The faith I want is a sure trust and con- 
fidence in God that, through the merits of 
Christ, my sins are forgiven, and I recon- - 
ciled to the favor of God. I want that 
faith which St. Paul recommends to all 
the world, especially in his Epistle to the 
Romans : that faith which enables every one 
that hath it to cry out, 4 1 live not ; but 
Christ liveth in me : and the life which I 
now live, I live by faith in the Son of God, 
who loved me, and gave himself for me.' 



WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 39 



I want that faith that frees from fear and 
doubt ; having peace with God through 
Christ, and rejoicing in the hope of the 
glory of God ; having the love of God shed 
abroad in his heart, through the Holy Ghost, 
which is given unto him ; which Spirit it- 
self beareth witness with his spirit, that he 
is a child of God/' 

13. With whom did Mr. Wesley advise 
at this time f 

With Count Zinzendorf, the founder and 
protector of the Moravian Society, and Pe- 
ter Bolder, another pious Moravian. 

14. What did Peter Bohler tell him ? 
That true faith in Christ was inseparably 

attended by, 1st, dominion over sin ; and, 
2d, constant peace, arising from a sense of 
forgiveness. He also told him that this 
saving faith in Christ is given in a moment, 
and that in an instant a man is turned from 
sin and misery to righteousness and joy in 
the Holy Ghost. 

15. How did these doctrines affect him ? 
He was amazed, and said that if this was 



40 WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 

so, it was clear that he was without true faith 
in Christ, because he was without its insep- 
arable fruits. But in searching the Script- 
ures he found that both doctrines were 
true, for, to his utter astonishment, he found 
there were scarcely any instances of other 
than instantaneous conversions. He could 
now only cry out, " Lord, help thou my un- 
belief." He was now thoroughly convinced 
and, by the grace of God, resolved to seek 
this faith unto the end. 

16. Why vjas it difficult for him to yield, 
and what sentiment, generally discarded hy 
the Church, gave him trouble f 

His mental structure, education, and relig- 
ious notions made it difficult to come to the 
point of depending on nothing but Christ, 
and on him now, for salvation, as instanta- 
neous conversion was generally discarded by 
the Established Church. 

17. What did he think of doing, and what 
advice did his friend Bohler give him? 

Wesley thought that, being without faith, 
he ought to stop preaching. But Bohler 



WK3LEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 41 



said, " By no means. Preach, faith till you 
have it ; and then, because you have it, you 
will preach it." 

18. What did Mr. Wesley now do? 

He consecrated himself entirely to the 
work, and by labors and watching and tears, 
such as alarmed his friends, he spread the 
truth of what he believed to be the power 
of God unto salvation. 

19. Give an account of the greatest event 
of his history ? 

Though he had not yet realized the full- 
ness of what he was urging upon the accept- 
ance of others, he was still panting after it. 
May 21, 1738, about five in the morning, 
he opened his Testament on these words : 
There " are given unto us exceeding great 
and precious promises ; that by these ye 
might be partakers of the divine nature." 
(2 Peter i, 4.) Just as he went out he 
opened it again, on these words : " Thou art 
not far from the kingdom of God." In the 
afternoon he was asked to go to St. Paul's 
Cathedral. The Anthem, " Out of the deep 



42 WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 

have I called unto thee, Lord ; Lord, hear 
my voice," etc., was full of comfort to him. 
In the evening he went to one of the social 
religious assemblies of the Moravians, where 
one was reading Luther's Preface to the 
Epistle to the Romans, in which Luther 
teaches what faith is, and also that faith 
alone justifies. "Wesley says, " About a 
quarter before nine, while he was describing 
the change which God works in the heart, 
through faith in Christ, I felt my heart 
strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in 
Christ, Christ alone, for salvation ; and an 
assurance was given me that he hath taken 
away my sins, even mine, and saved me 
from the law of sin and death." 

20. What did he begin to do ? 

To pray with all his might for those who 
had, in an especial manner, despitef ully used 
and persecuted him, and testified openly to 
all there what he then first felt in his heart. 

21. State the contrast between his present 
and past experience ? 

For ten years he had believed in Christ, 



WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 43 

but never believed as he did now. He had 
been intensely pious ; but now he possessed 
power over himself and sin, which he had 
not possessed before. He had practiced re- 
ligion ; but now he experienced its bliss. 
He had been seeking to establish his own 
righteousness, instead of submitting to the 
righteousness of Christ, which is by faith. 
He had been as a servant of God, and was 
accepted of him, but now, " the Spirit bore 
witness with his spirit, that he was a child 
of God," and there was sunshine in his soul. 
After ten years of earnest prayer, rigorous 
fasting, and self-sacrificing piety, he was 
now brought into the blissful enjoyment of 
a conscious salvation, and the severe ascetic 
was turned into a joyful saint. 

22. After this did he have any struggles 
tvith doubt f 

Yes, he ^as much buffeted with manifold 
temptations, which returned again and again. 
But in the midst of all he kept waiting 
upon God continually, read the New Tes- 
tament, conquered temptations, proceeded 



44 WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 



from "strength to strength," till he could 
say, " Now, I was always conqueror." His 
experience, nurtured by habitual prayer, and 
deepened by unwearied exertion in the 
cause of his Saviour, settled into that stead- 
fast faith ml solid peace which the grace 
of God perfected in him to the close of his 
long and active life. 

23. What was indispensable for him, and 
what did this revelation of God to his soul 
enable him to do ? 

This was the crisis to which God had been 
drawing him for years. It was indispensa- 
ble for him to know the things whereof he 
affirmed. This revelation assured him that 
what he had believed was the truth as it is 
in Jesus, and enabled him to declare it with 
a degree of confidence he had never done 
before. 

24. What did it reveal to him, and what 
power did it give him ? 

It revealed the nature and evidences of re- 
ligion with the clearness of light, and gave 
him the power of patient endurance in well- 



WESLEY A2s T D EARLY METHODISM. 45 



doing that was necessary to the position lie 
was to occupy. 

25. What %vas the result of this f 

The line between the Wesley s and other 
clergymen was distinctly drawn, the point 
of attainment in religious experience defined, 
and the standard of genuine religion estab- 
lished. Following the instincts of their new - 
state, no less than the dictates of a sound 
policy, they, with other witnesses to the truth 
of instantaneous justification by faith, or- 
ganized themselves into a society for mutual 
improvement. 

26. What does Mr. Wesley say with regard 
to the origin of Methodism ? 

He refers it to three distinct periods. 
He says : " The first rise of Methodism was 
in November, 1729, when four of us met 
at Oxford. The second was at Savannah, in 
April, 1736, when twenty or thirty persons 
met at my house. The last was at Lon- 
don, May 1, 1738, when forty or fifty of us 
agreed to meet together every Wednesday 
evening, in order to free conversation, begun 



46 WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 



and ended with singing and prayer. God 
then thrust us out to raise a holy people." 

27. Hoio has Methodism been described ? 

As a revival Church in its spirit, a mis- 
sionary Church in its organization, a resus- 
citation of the spiritual life and practical 
aims of primitive Christianity. 



WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 47 



CHAPTEE IV. 

1. What were the tvx> celebrated sermons 
Mr. Wesley preached soon after his conver- 
sion f 

He went to Oxford and preached before 
the University his celebrated sermon on the 
text, " By grace are ye saved through faith." 
The same year he published another sermon* 
" On God's Free Grace," in which he gave 
equal prominence to another great Bible 
truth, namely, that the grace or love of God, 
whence cometh our salvation, is free in all, 
and free for all. 

2. In defense of himself , as a good Church- 
man, what did he issue ? 

A pamphlet of sixteen pages, entitled 
" The Doctrine of Salvation, Faith, and Good 
"Works ; extracted from the Homilies of the 
Church of England." 



48 WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 



3. What did it show with regard to the 
doctrine of that Ch urch f 

That the sinner is justified by faith only ; 
and yet this faith does not exclude repent- 
ance, hope, love, and fear of God ; but 
shuts them out from the office of justifying. 
Neither does faith shut out good works, nec- 
essary to be done afterward ; but we are not 
to do them with the intent of being justified 
by doing them. He further shows that " jus- 
tification is the office of God only — a bless- 
ing which we receive of him, by his free 
mercy, through the only merits of his be- 
loved Son.". He adds, " The right and true 
Christian faith is not only to believe that 
Holy Scripture and the articles of our faith 
are true, but also to have a sure trust and 
confidence to be saved from everlasting dam- 
nation by Christ; whereof doth follow a 
loving heart to obey his commandments. 
He maintains further that, without this 
true saving faith, the works we do can- 
not be good and acceptable in the sight of 
God." 



WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 49 

4. To what did the preaching of these doc- 
trines give birth f 

To the greatest revival of religion chron- 
icled in the history of the Church of Christ. 
From such doctrines Wesley never wavered. 
" They are essentially and vitally connected 
with man's salvation both here and here- 
after." 

5. Whom did 3fr. Wesley visit about three 
weelcs after his conversion ? 

He spent about three months with the 
Moravians, in Germany, to whom he was 
much indebted ; while his brother Charles 
contended earnestly for the faith among 
formalists at home. 

6. On his return to London, what did he 
do? 

" 1 began," he says, " to declare in my own 
country the glad tidings of salvation, preach- 
ing three times, and afterward expounding 
to a large company in the Minories, the 
next day after my arrival. On Monday I 
met with the Moravian Society at Fetter 
Lane, which had increased from ten mem- 



50 WESLEY AXD EARLY METHODISM. 



bers to thirty-two ; and on Tuesday I went 
to the condemned felons in Newgate, and 
preached to them a free salvation, and in 
the evening I went to a society in Bear 
Yard, and preached repentance and remission 
of sins." 

7. IIoio icere the Wesley s regarded at this 
time ? 

They were now objects of especial atten- 
tion. Before this they had been considered 
as over-righteous, and now they were sup- 
posed to be crazy ; and the more so, because 
they professed to have demonstrated the 
truth of their doctrines by a joyful experi- 
ence in their own souls. 

8. Soio did this affect them, and ichat of 
their success in ^Teaching f 

Nothing moved them, and they were suc- 
cessful in bringing others into the same bless- 
ed state. Their word was accompanied by 
divine power. The utterance of a few sim- 
ple truths, whether from the Bible or person- 
al experience, was like fire, " and like a ham- 
mer that breaketh the rock to pieces." 



WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 51 

Professional men, full of pride and conceit, 
became as little children. 

9. Were they allowed to preach in the 
churches f 

No. At the close of the year 1738 they 
were almost uniformly excluded from the 
pulpits of the Established Church. They, 
therefore, preached, as the providence of 
God opened the way, in prisons, fields, and 
highways, thus attracting thousands to hear 
the Gospel. At first Mr. Wesley hesitated 
at this seeming irregularity, but when he 
came to consider the example of Christ, and 
that He was excluded from the churches, 
he says, " 1 submitted to be yet more vile, 
and proclaimed in the highways the glad 
tidings of salvation." 

10. Where did he first preach out of 
doors ? 

From a little eminence in a ground ad- 
joining the city of Bristol, to about three 
thousand people, taking for his text Isaiah 
Ixi, 1, 2, which was both appropriate and 
striking. 



52 WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 

11. When he was questioned as to his good 
faith in holding out-of-door services with- 
out the consent of the local clergy, what was 
his reply ? 

He replied, " Permit me to speak plainly. 
On scriptural principles I do not think it 
hard to justify whatever I do. God in Script- 
ure commands me, according to my power, 
to instruct the ignorant, reform the wicked, 
confirm the virtuous. Man forbids me to 
do this in another's parish ; that is, in effect, 
to do it at all, seeing I have no parish of my 
own, nor probably ever shall. Whom, then, 
shall I hear, God or man ? 6 If it be just to 
obey man, rather than God, judge you.' A 
dispensation of the Gospel is committed to 
me ; and woe is me if I preach not the Gos- 
pel. Suffer me now to tell you my princi- 
ples in this matter. I look upon all the,, 
world as my parish." 

12. WJiy did it seem that God approved 
of this method? 

By the fruits. Their congregations were 
estimated at twenty, forty, sometimes fifty 



WESLEY AND EAELY METHODISM. 53 

thousand. Many who had set all laws at 
defiance, human and divine, and were utter- 
ly without God in the world, were pricked 
in their hearts, and, with cries and tears, 
exclaimed, in the bitterness of their soul, 
" What must I do to be saved ?" Many of 
these were soon ' filled with peace and joy 
in believing,' and evidenced that the work 
was really of God, by holy, happy, and un- 
blamable walking before Him. Blasphe- 
mies were now turned to praise, and the 
voice of joy and gladness was found where 
wickedness and misery reigned before. 

13. What was the result of this new meas- 
ure f 

The lowest masses of the neglected people 
were thus invaded by the Gospel ; hundreds 
and thousands were reclaimed to virtue and 
piety; and u Societies " were formed, in order 
to bring the numerous converts into rela- 
tions of Christian communion and discipline. 

14. With what difficulty did they meet, 
and what did this suggest f 

They could not find a place large enough 



54 WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 



to meet in ; this suggested the idea of build- 
ing a room or a house large enough to ac- 
commodate those who wished to be present at 
the preaching, as well as at the society 
meetings. The corner-stone of the first 
Methodist meeting-house the world ever 
saw was laid in Bristol, on Saturday, May, 
12, 1739, with prayer and songs of praise. 
It was not dignified by the name of 
" church," or even chapel, but was simply 
called " The Preaching-house." In Novem- 
ber, of the same year, the " Foundry," in 
London, was consecrated. 

15. Give an account of the old Foundry ? 

It was the first Methodist preaching-house 
in London. In November, 1739, Mr. Wes- 
ley was invited by two gentlemen, who were 
strangers to him, to preach in an unused 
and dilapidated building in London, near 
the Moorfields. He accepted the invitation, 
and on Sunday, Nov. 11, he preached, at 
eight o'clock in the morning, to about five 
thousand persons, and at five o'clock in the 
evening there were seven or eight thousand 



WESLEV AND EARLY METHODISM. 55 



present. The place had been used as a gov- 
ernment foundry, for the casting of cannon, 
but more than twenty years before this a 
terrible explosion had occurred, which blew 
off the roof and otherwise injured the build- 
ing, killing and wounding a considerable 
number of workmen. This accident led to 
the abandonment o* the old foundry, which 
Mr. Wesley purchased, made the necessary 
repairs, divided it into a chapel, (which 
would accommodate about fifteen hundred 
people.) preachers' house, school and band 
room. A bell * was hung in a plain belfry, 
and was rung every morning at five o'clock 
for early service, and every evening at nine 
for family worship, as well as at sundry oth- 
er times. This was really the cradle of Lon- 
don Methodism. Here Wesley began to 

*A few years ago the old Foundry bell, used in calling 
the people to the five o'clock preaching, was still in exist- 
ence, and was attached to the school at Friar's Mount, 
London. The old Foundry pulpit is preserved at Rich' 
mond, and is used by the Richmond students every week, 
and the old Foundry chandelier is now in use in the chap- 
el at Bowes, in Yorkshire. — Tyerman, vol. i, p. 273. 



56 



WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 



preach at the close of the year 1739. His 
constant theme was salvation by faith, pre- 
ceded by repentance, and followed by holi- 
ness. The place was rough and the people 
poor; but the service, simple, scriptural, 
beautiful. 

16. Wliat is said of the progress of this 
worJc of God f 

It spread in every direction, triumphing 
over the prejudices and opposition of men 
of various ranks and conditions ; societies 
were formed in many places; drunkards, 
swearers, thieves, adulterers, were brought 
from darkness unto light, and from the pow- 
er of Satan unto God. Many, who had not 
so much as a rational faith, being Jews, 
Arians, Deists, or Atheists, were made par- 
takers of an inward, vital religion, even 
righteousness, peace, and joy, in the Holy 
Ghost. 

17. WJiat extraordinary circumstances oc- 
curred, and what seems to have been the 
design ? 

The manner wherein God wrought this 



WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 57 

work is as strange as the work itself, and 
equally remote from what human wisdom 
would have expected. In any particular 
soul generally, if not always, it was wrought 
in one moment, and often these conversions 
were attended with remarkable physical dem- 
onstrations. These circumstances seem to 
have been designed by God for the further 
manifestation of his work, to cause his 
power to be known, and to awaken the atten- 
tion of a drowsy world. 

18. Were these demonstrations peculiar to 
the Methodists f 

No. The great Methodist revival of re- 
ligion stood not alone, for God, in his sov- 
ereign mercy, was performing works quite 
as great in Germany, America, and Scotland. 
In America, under Eev. Jonathan Edwards, 
in 1729, where in " many instances convic- 
tion of sin and conversion were attended 
with intense physical excitement." Scenes 
of mercy were witnessed in Scotland and in 
Germany quite as striking as those which 
were occurring in England and in America, 



58 WESLEY AIsD EARLY METHODISM. 

exhibiting the same physical affections. It 
is also a significant fact that all these 
great revivals were begun by preaching the 
same kind of truth, the doctrine of salvation 
by simple faith in Christ. 

19. Through whom did the Society in 
London fall into dangerous errors, and to 
what did this lead ? 

1739. The Moravians, with whom they 
were intimately connected. The points of 
difference were ably discussed, which finally 
led to the division of the Society, and the 
separation of Mr. Wesley, as well as eight- 
een or nineteen others, from the Moravians. 
Wesley took down their names, and met 
them every Thursday evening, for spiritual 
advice and prayer. Soon after they met at 
the chapel in Moorfields, or " The Foundry," 
Mr. Wesley having the Society under his 
pastoral care. 

20. Of what did this suggest the impor- 
tance f 

These differences, together with the multi- 
plication of Societies, suggested the impor- 



WESLEY AJSTD EARLY METHODISM. 59 



tance of having some definite bases of union ; 
which, while it should invite all serious per- 
sons to the highest privileges of the Gospel, 
would authorize the pastors of the flock to 
eject such from their fellowship as should 
prove themselves unworthy of confidence. 

21. How was this necessity supplied? 

1742. By the adoption of that most excel- 
lent code in our Discipline, called " The 
General Rules of our United Societies." 

22. Give Mr. Wesley's views of a Meth- 
odist, published in Or tract in 1739. 

He says : " A Methodist is one who has 
the love of God shed abroad in his heart by 
the Holy Ghost given unto him ; one who 
loves the Lord his God with all his heart, 
soul, mind, and strength. He rejoices ever- 
more, prays without ceasing, and in every 
thing gives thanks. His heart is full of 
love to all mankind, and is purified from 
envy, malice, wrath, and every unkind and 
malign affection. His one desire and the 
one design of his life is not to do his own 
will, but the will of Him that sent him. 



60 WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 



He keeps not only some or most of God's 
commandments, but all, from the least to the 
greatest. He follows not the customs of 
the world ; for vice does not lose its nature 
from its becoming fashionable. He fares 
not sumptuously every day. He cannot lay 
up treasures upon earth, any more than he 
can take fire into his bosom. He cannot 
adorn himself, on any pretense, with gold 
or costly apparel. He cannot join in any 
diversion that has the least tendency to vice. 
He cannot speak evil of his neighbor, no 
more than he can tell a lie. He cannot 
utter unkind or idle words. No corrupt 
communication ever comes out of his mouth. 
He does good unto all men : unto neighbors 
and strangers, friends and enemies." 



WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 61 



CHAPTER V. 

1. What occurrence, in 17 41, cast a shadow 
over the prospects of the new Society? 

Mr. Whitefield's departure from the faith. 
His having adopted the Calvinistic view of 
the atonement led to a debate, alienation, 
and, at last, separation. 

2. To meet this emergency, what did Mr. 
Wesley do ? 

Printed a sermon on "Predestination or 
Free Grace," showing the absurdity of the 
particular views of the Calvinists, which 
gave offense and led to the separation of the 
two parties. This was the origin of the 
Calvinistic Methodists. 

3. After this, how did Mr, Wesley and 
Mr. Whitefield regard each other f 

Although they separated, they still loved 
each other, as was shown by their preach- 
ing in each other's chapels, and also by 



62 WESLEY AND EAELY METHODISM. 



Mr. Whitefield bequeathing a mourning 
ring to the brothers, and requesting Mr. 
Wesley to preach his funeral sermon, 
should he die first, which he did, and thus 
gave full proof of a profound love for Mr. 
Whitefield 

4. At this time what necessity was to he 
provided for, and what v;as Mr. Wesley^s 
desire ? 

The work increased so wonderfully — there 
was a great demand for laborers. Mr. 
Wesley desired that the ministers of the 
Established Church should look after those 
who were converted; encourage them in 
faith and practice, as their spiritual interest 
required. 

5. Did the clergy do this ? 

~No. And so far from encouraging them, 
they swelled the tide of opposition against 
them, by ridiculing their religion, repelling 
them from the Lord's table, hindering rath- 
er than helping. The result was that many 
turned back to the world and plunged into 
sin. 



WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 63 

6. How did Mr. Wesley meet this diffi- 
culty ? 

By selecting some persons of deep piety, 
sound judgment in divine things, and re- 
questing them to meet the others ; to con- 
verse, read, and pray with them, as they 
might be able. 

7. Give the history of Mr. MaxfieWs 
preaching. 

As Mr. Wesley was about to leave Lon- 
don, he appointed Thomas Maxfield, one of 
the first converts in Bristol, to meet with 
the Foundry Society during his absence, 
pray with them, and by such means as were 
suitable for a layman, to encourage and ad- 
vise them. Being fervent in spirit, and 
mighty in the Scriptures, he was insensibly 
led from praying and exhorting to preach- 
ing, his sermons being accompanied with 
such power that numbers were converted. 
Mr. Wesley, being informed of this irregu- 
larity, hastened to London to arrest it. His 
mother, on his arrival, seeing that something 
troubled him, inquired what it was, to which 



64: WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 

lie abruptly replied, " Thomas Maxfield 
has turned preacher, I find." His mother 
said, " John, take care what you do with 
respect to that young man, for he is as sure- 
ly called of God to preach as you are. Ex- 
amine what have been the fruits of his 
preaching, and hear him yourself." The 
Countess of Huntingdon also wrote : " Max- 
field is one of the greatest instances of God's 
peculiar favor that I know. He is my 
astonishment. The first time I made him 
expound I expected little from him; but 
before he had gone over one fifth of his dis- 
course my attention was riveted and I was 
immovable. His power in prayer is also 
very extraordinary." 

8. Did Mr. Wesley folloio his mother's 
advice ? 

He did, and was constrained to say, " It 
is the Lord ; let him do what seemeth to 
him good." From that time forward he 
accepted aid of such laymen as he believed 
God had qualified by the Holy Spirit for 
such public labor. This is the origin of lay 



WESLEY AND EAKLY METHODISM. 65 



preaching, to which Methodism, under God, 
is so much indebted. 

9. Does it still seem to he necessary to 
have lay preachers ? 

Notwithstanding that the ministry is great- 
ly increased, the population has increased 
wonderfully, and there are places of ministe- 
rial usefulness to be occupied that it is not 
in the power of the regular clergy to supply. 
It was an element of power, the influence 
of which has been steadily increasing. 
Marvelous is the fact, that the very Church, 
which so branded Mr. "Wesley for such a de- 
parture from Church order, realizing and ap- 
preciating the wonderfully beneficial results 
of this movement, are adopting it. In 1869 
Dr. Jackson, bishop of London, in his own 
private chapel formally authorized eight lay- 
men to read prayers, and to read and explain 
the Holy Scriptures, and to conduct religious 
services for the poor, in schools and mission 
rooms and in the open air, in the London 
diocese, with the understanding that their 
labors will be rendered gratuitously. 
5 



66 WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 



10. What induced Mr. Wesley to form 
his followers into Societies f 

This was done, not because lie designed 
to constitute a separate Church, but observ- 
ing, where they were not thus formed, they 
soon relapsed into their former habits. He 
had been constrained to preach in the high- 
ways, and other unconsecrated places, by the 
closing of the churches against him ; aud 
he felt compelled to allow pious laymen to 
exhort, and even to preach, by the refusal 
of the regular clergy to watch over the 
souls of inquirers and give them such in- 
struction as they needed. A little reflection 
also convinced him that this was the very 
course pursued from the beginning of Chris- 
tianity. 

11. Give some account of the Itinerant 
system. 

The multiplication of Societies exceeded 
the increase of preachers. It thus became 
necessary that the latter should travel from 
town to town, and thence arose the itiner- 
ancy, one of the most important features of 



WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 67 

the ministerial system of Methodism. While 
it has its disadvantages, it has the advantage 
of removing pastors without the friction 
which frequently occurs in other Churches, 
and of securing for pastors congregations, 
and for congregations pastors, without inju- 
rious absence or interruption. 

12. Give the origin of class-meetings. 

The Society at Bristol w T ere devising 
means for the payment of a debt incurred 
in building their "Meeting-house." One 
of them suggested that every member 
should give a penny a week until the debt 
was paid. Another answered, " But many 
are poor and cannot afford to do it." 
"Then," said the first, "put eleven of the 
poorest with me, and if they can give any 
thing, well ; I will call on them weekly, and 
if they can give nothing, I will give for 
them as well as for myself. And each of 
you can call on eleven of your neighbors 
weekly, receive what they give, and make 
up what is wanting." It was done. After 
a while some of these collectors informed 



68 WESLEY AXD EAKLY METHODISM. 

Mr. Wesley, " that they found such and 
such a one did not live as he ought." He 
called together all the leaders of the classes, 
(as the collectors -were called,) and requested 
them to make particular inquiry with re- 
gard to the behavior of those whom they saw 
weekly. They did so, and many disorderly 
walkers were detected, and thus the Society 
was purged of unworthy members. 

13. Did Mr. Wesley introduce this £>la?i 
in London ? 

1742. Tes, about six weeks afterward, as 
he had long found it difficult to become ac- 
quainted with all the members personally, 
he requested several earnest and sensible 
men to meet him, to whom he explained his 
difficulty. They all agreed, that to come to 
a sure, thorough knowledge of each member, 
there could be no better way, and thus, after 
an existence of three years, the Methodist 
Societies were divided into classes. 

14. What %oere the leaders required to do ? 
To see each member of his class once a 

week ; to inquire after the prosperity of their 



WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 69 

souls ; to advise, reprove, or exhort, as was 
found necessary ; to < receive what they 
wished to give for the relief of the poor ; 
and to meet the ministers and stewards, as 
at the present time. At first the leaders 
visited the members at their own houses, 
but as this was found to be inconvenient, and 
in some cases impracticable, the members of 
each class met together once a week, and the 
leader was only required to visit those who 
might be absent. 

15. What does Mr. Wesley say with re- 
gard to the advantage of these meetings f 

He says : " It can scarce be conceived 
what advantages have been reaped by this 
little prudential regulation. Many now ex- 
perienced that Christian fellowship of which 
they had mot so much as an idea before. 
They began to bear one another's burdens, 
and naturally to care for each other's wel- 
fare. Upon reflection, I could not but ob- 
serve, this is the very thing which was from 
the beginning of Christianity. As soon as 
any J ews or heathen were so conv inced of 



70 WESLEY A3T> EAELY METHODISE. 



tlie truth as to forsake sin, and seek the 
gospel of salvation, the first preachers im- 
mediately joined them together, took an ac- 
count of their names, advised them to watch 
over each other, and met these catechumens, 
as they were called, apart from the great 
congregation, that they might instruct, re- 
buke, exhort, and pray with and for them, 
according to their several necessities." 

16 Bow are these meetings regarded in 
America f 

Though they are not so strictly a test of 
membership as in England, they are placed, 
by the Discipline of the Methodist Episco- 
pal Church, among the means of grace, and 
attendance upon them is specified as a 
Christian duty, 

17. What is the usual order of service in 
these meetings ? 

" Opening with singing and prayer, some- 
times with reading of the Holy Scriptures. 
The leader then gives such general counsel 
and exhortation as he deems suitable, and 
speaks to the members of the class severally, 



"WESLEY AKD EARLY METHODISM. 71 

touching their religious experience. Each 
member is expected to take part in the exer- 
cise, either in the relation of experience or 
making such inquiries, or giving such coun- 
sel as may suit the occasion. Sometimes a 
special topic is selected, on which the mem- 
bers converse ; or some duty is discussed in 
an informal way. By this Christiai*conver- 
sation, and by the variety and experience, 
many a sorrowful heart is comforted, many 
a doubt is removed, and a stronger and more 
vigorous type of Christian piety is cultiva- 
ted." — Cyclopedia of Methodism, Bishop 
Simpson. 

18. When and where was the first Method- 
ist watch-night held? 

On the last night of the year 1740, in 
Bristol, under the supervision of Mr. Wes- 
ley. 

19. How is a watch-night conducted? 

On the last night of every year this sol- 
emn service is held and continued until a 
little past twelve o'clock. It is usually com- 
menced by singing and prayer, after which 



72 WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 



the time is occupied in preaching, singing, 
exhortation, and prayer; sometimes the 
Lord's Supper is administered, and, not Tin- 
frequently, a part of the evening is devoted 
to love-feast exercises. A little before 
twelve o'clock all present are invited to 
kneel before God in silent prayer, and thus 
remain^until the closing of the year, when 
the pastor, in vocal prayer, commends the 
congregation to the divine guidance and 
protection, and closes by singing, (usually 
the covenant hymn,) and the benediction. 
These meetings were originally held almost 
exclusively by the Methodists, but they have 
been introduced into some of the churches 
of other denominations. 

20. When icere love-feasts "begun among 
the Methodists, and hom are they conducted ? 

As early as 1737 Mr. Wesley joined 
with the Moravians in one of their " love- 
feasts." He introduced these meetings into 
the economy of Methodism, making them 
more simple, however, and more thoroughly 
religious. In them the members of the 



WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 73 

church, assemble once a quarter, and after 
singing, bread and water are passed around, 
of which each member is expected to par- 
take, as an indication of fraternal love and 
of devotion to the cause of the Redeemer. 
This ended, one rises and testifies of the 
goodness of God. Others follow, as oppor- 
tunity is afforded. „ . 

21. What do we see in these peculiarities 
of Methodism f 

That they were of providential origin, 
springing out of the spiritual necessities of 
the pious and perishing sinners. There 
seems to have been no planning, no human 
ingenuity, no speculation. Mr. "Wesley's 
plans were the plans of the Church of 
England. He knew no other, he wanted no 
other, till the necessity appeared, and the 
measure stood up before him like a real 
presence ; and then he adopted it for the 
sake of the cause, though in doing so he 
had to depart from a long-cherished system 
of operations to which he had adhered with 
undeviating tenacity. 



WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 



CHAPTEE VI. 

1. What is said of the preaching of the 
word at this time hy Mr. Wesley and his 
helpers f 

The preaching was attended with power. 
It was generally extemporaneous and di- 
rectly adapted to the circumstances of the 
people, as the sermons of the other clergy 
were not. The hearers, even the low and 
despised, listened with astonishment, and re- 
garding it as a message of God to them, 
made haste to "repent and be converted." 
Several soldiers of the British Army, who 
were converted, upon going into Germany, 
began to preach Jesus to the army, and great 
was the power of God that attended them. 

2. Did this growing cause meet with op- 
position f 

The same spirit that christened its early 



WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. "75 

friends " Methodists" at Oxford, found sym- 
pathy at other places. The clergy used their 
influence against it, refusing the preach- 
ers the use of their pulpits, and otherwise 
treating them as heretics and vagabonds. 
Mr. Wesley had been denied the privilege 
of preaching in the church at Epworth, 
where his father had been rector for forty 
years, and therefore preached on his father's 
tombstone to such a congregation as Ep- 
worth had never seen. Sermons had been 
preached denouncing the whole fraternity 
as a pestilent concern, that ought not to be 
tolerated. 

3. What effect did the example of the 
priests have %ipon the rahble f 

The new sect being every where spoken 
against by people of rank and religion, the 
rabble pursued them from place to place 
with sword in hand, and, but for the protec- 
tion of Omnipotence, would have hurled 
them to oblivion. 

4. What happened in London ? 

They were often attacked with showers 



76 WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 



of stones; and once an attempt was made 
to unroof the " Foundry," where they were 
assembled. In different places mobs were 
summoned together by the sound of the 
horn; men, women, and children were 
abused in the most shocking manner, being 
beaten, stoned, and covered with mud. 
Their houses were broken open by any 
that pleased, and their goods spoiled or car- 
ried away. 

5. Did this opposition retard the work? 

Jsot withstanding all this, which was ac- 
companied with every other species of op- 
position which learning, wealth, prejudice, 
and power can give, by the peculiar blessing 
of Heaven, the work advanced with accu- 
mulating energy, achieving reforms among 
the lower classes that had been regarded 
as utterly impracticable. 

6. How did all this affect Mr. Wesley f 
He calmly pursued the path of duty, 

praying, preaching, visiting the sick and 
dying, forming Societies, building chapels, 
reading, writing, and publishing. 



WESLEY AND. EARLY METHODISM. 77 



7. For the first few years in Methodist 
histiry was there any special plan of cir- 
cuit work ? 

For several years the preachers traveled 
from place to place, as circumstances seemed 
to require, and as Mr. "Wesley directed with- 
out any special plan. But as they became 
more numerous, and the work more exten- 
sive and complicated, it became necessary to 
divide the country into circuits, to be sup- 
plied by the different preachers, according to 
rules that might be adopted for that purpose. 

8. What did Mr. Wesley do to effect so 
difficult a task and secure the greatest pos- 
sible success ? 

Mr. Wesley invited several clergymen 
and lay assistants to meet him in London, 
and to give him " their advice respecting 
the best method of carrying on the work 
of God." And thus was called together 
the first Methodist Conference. 

9. Give an account of this Conference. 
It was held at the " Foundry," in London, 

commencing on Monday, June 25, 1744, 



78 WESLEY AKD EARLY METHODISM. • 

and lasted five days. It consisted of six 
ordained and four lay preachers. On Sun- 
day, the day before the opening of Confer- 
ence, besides the ordinary preaching services, 
a love-feast was held, and the sacrament was 
administered to the whole of the London 
Society, now numbering between two and 
three thousand- members, six clergymen 
being present. The Conference was opened 
with prayer, asking God's guidance and 
blessing, followed by a sermon from Charles 
Wesley. Then the time was spent in the 
consideration of the great doctrinal and 
practical questions involved in their enter- 
prise. The three points discussed were, 
1. What to teach. 2. How to teach. 
3. What to do ; or, how to regulate our doc- 
trine, discipline, and practice. This was 
the beginning of conferences, and lies at the 
foundation of that series of annual meetings 
of the preachers which has been extended 
to the present day. 

10. What did Mr. Wesley take occasion 
to do y as arrangements were more fully 



WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 79 

settled, and preachers assigned to particu- 
lar fields of labor for a time f 

To reason with the established clergy, 
attributing most of the persecutions the 
Societies were called upon to endure to 
ignorance and prejudice. Wishing to do it 
in a manner the least offensive, he drew up, 
in 1745, a short statement of the case, be- 
tween the clergy and the Methodists. 

11. What three requests did Mr. Wesley 
w^ike in this document f 

"1. That if any thing material be laid to 
our charge, we may be permitted to answer 
for ourselves. 2. That you would hinder 
your defendants from stirring up the rabble 
against us, who are certainly not the proper 
judges in these matters ; and, 3. That you 
would effectually suppress and discounte- 
nance all riots and popular insurrections, 
which evidently strike at the foundation of 
all government, whether of Church or State. 5 ' 

12. What general advice did Mr. Wesley 
give in talldng to his own people ? 

His advice to them was equally pertinent 



80 WESLEY AXD EARLY METHODISM. 

and instructive. He says : " The first gen- 
eral advice which one who loves your souls 
would earnestly recommend to every one of 
you is, Consider, with deep and frequent 
attention, the peculiar circumstances where- 
in you stand. One of these is, that you are 
a new people. Tour name is new, (at least 
as used in a religious sense,) not heard of 
till a few years ago, either in your own or 
any other nation. Your principles are new, 
in this respect, that there is no other set of 
people among us, (and possibly not in the 
Christian world,) who hold them all in the 
same degree and connection ; who so stren- 
uously and continually insist on the absolute 
necessity of universal holiness, both in heart 
and life, of a peaceful, joyous love of God, 
of a supernatural evidence of things not seen, 
of an inward witness that we are the chil- 
dren of God, and of the inspiration of the 
Holy Ghost, in order to any good thought, 
word, or work. And, perhaps, there is no 
other set of people who lay so much, and 
yet no more, stress than you do on rectitude 



WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 81 

of opinions, on outward modes of worship, 
and the use of those ordinances which you 
acknowledge to be of God ; and yet do not 
condemn any man upon earth, merely for 
thinking otherwise than you do, much less 
to imagine that God condemns him for this, 
if he be upright and sincere of heart." 

13. How did Mr. Wesley describe their 
strictness of life ? 

" Your strictness of life, taking the whole 
of it together, may likewise be accounted 
new. I mean your making it a rule to ab- 
stain from fashionable diversions ; your 
plainness of dress ; your manner of dealing 
in trade ; your exactness in observing the 
Lord's day; your scrupulosity as to things 
that have not paid custom ; your total absti- 
nence from spirituous liquors, unless in cases 
of extreme necessity ;) your rule not to men- 
tion the fault of an absent person, in partic- 
ular of ministers, or of those in authority, 
may justly be termed new. For we do not 
find any body of people who insist on all 
these rules together." 
6 



82 WESLEY ANT> EARLY METHODISM. 



14:. In giving his second advice, what did 
Mr. Wesley tell them not to imagine f 

"Do not imagine you can avoid giving of- 
fense. Your very name renders this impos- 
sible. And as much offense as you give by 
your name, you will give still more by your 
principles." 

15. How would they give offense to bigots ? 
" You will give offense to the bigots for 

opinions, modes of worship, and ordinances, 
by laying no more stress upon them ; to the 
bigots against them by laying so much." 

16. How to men of form, and moral men, 
and men of reason f 

" To men of form, by insisting so frequent- 
ly and strongly on the inward power of relig- 
ion ; to moral men, (so-called,) by declaring 
the absolute necessity of faith in order to 
acceptance with God; and to men of reason, 
by talking of inspiration and receiving the 
Holy Ghost." 

17. How would they give offense to sin- 
ners generally? 

To drunkards, Sabbath breakers, common 



WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 83 

swearers, and other open sinners, by refrain- 
ing from their company, as well as by that 
disapprobation of their behavior which they 
would often be obliged to express. 
18. What must they do, therefore f 
Either they must consent to give up their 
principles, or their fond hope of pleasing 
men. 

19 . What circumstances made their prin- 
ciples even more offensive ? 

Their being united together made them 
more conspicuous, placing them more in the 
eye of men ; and more dreadful to those of 
a fearful temper ; and more odious to men 
of zeal, if their zeal be any other than fer- 
vent love to God and man. 

20, What is said of the attainments of 
the preachers at this time f 

They were not skilled beyond the first 
principles of religion, and the practical con- 
sequences deducible from them — repent- 
ance toward God, faith toward our Lord 
Jesus Christ, and the fruits that follow 
"righteousness, and peace, and joy in the 



84 WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 

Holy Ghost." These were the subjects of 
their daily discourses, and these truths they 
knew in power. 

21. Why did, it seem necessary to dwell 
on these first jyrinciples ? 

On account of the low state of religious 
knowledge among the people, it was abso- 
lutely necessary to enforce these first prin- 
ciples, and to give them a practical influence 
on the heart and life, before they were led 
any further. 

22. What was the effect of the limited 
knowledge of the preachers ? 

Under these circumstances, so far from 
being an inconvenience, it was an advan- 
tage, as it necessarily confined them to 
those fundamental points of experimental 
and practical religion which were best 
adapted to the state of the people. Their 
artless but earnest ministry secured the 
attention of the common people, and it 
was a/pparent that they wielded a wonderful 
power. 

23. How did the preacher often enforce 



WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 85 

upon his hearers the necessity of seeking by 
grace alone through a Redeemer ? 

By drawing a picture of human nature in 
such strong and natural colors, that every one 
who heard him saw his own likeness in it, 
and was ready to say, u He hath shown me 
all that was in my heart." 

24. What is said of the effect of such 
preaching f 

It was surprising ; the people found them- 
selves, under every discourse, emerging out 
of the thickest darkness into a region of 
light ; realizing their own sinfulness in such 
a manner, they felt as if they were lost 
forever, but, depending upon Christ as their 
Saviour, light broke upon them, and they 
were led to rejoice. 

25. What did Mr. Wesley foresee ? 

As knowledge increased among the peo- 
ple, it ought to be increased in the same, or 
even in a greater, proportion among the 
preachers, otherwise they would become 
less useful. He, therefore, began to think 
of a collection of such books in the English 



86 WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISE. 

language as might forward their improve- 
ment in treating of the various branches of 
practical divinity. 

26. With whom did Mr. Wesley consult 
on this subject ? 

With Dr. Doddridge, who, with great 
courtesy, furnished the list of books desired. 

27. About this time what was inserted in 
" The Minutes" of the Conference for the 
benefit of the ministry f 

" Read the most useful books, and that 
regularly and constantly. Steadily spend 
all the morning in this employ, or, at least, 
five hours in the f our-and-twenty." 

28. When one said' he read only the Bible^ 
what was Mr. Wesley's reply ? 

" Then you ought to teach others to read 
only the Bible, and, by parity of reason, to 
hear only the Bible. But if so, you need 
preach no more. This is rank enthusiasm. 
If you need no other book but the Bible, 
you are got above St. Paul. He wanted 
others, too. ' Bring the books, 5 says he, 
5 but especially the parchments.' " 



WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 87 

29. If they said they had no taste for 
reading, what was his advice ? and if they 
had no hooks, vjhat did he offer ? 

" Contract a taste for reading by use, or 
return to your trade. I will give each of 
you, as fast as you will read them, books to 
tlie value of five pounds. And I desire 
that the assistants would take care that all * 
the large Societies provide our works, or at 
least the Notes, for the use of the preachers." 

30. What was one of Mr. Wesley's most 
important schemes for the promotion of re- 
ligious knowledge ? 

The compilation and publication of the 
" Christian Library. 55 It consisted of ex- 
tracts from and abridgments of the choicest 
works of practical divinity, beginning with 
translations of the Apostolic Fathers. He 
began it in 1749, and continued through 
fifty volumes. The entire work was re- 
printed i)i 1825, in thirty octavo volumes. 

31. To provide for the education of chil- 
dren, what did Mr. Wesley establish ? 

In 1741 Mr. Wesley established the 



88 WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 

Kingswood School, for the complete educa- 
tion of the young, where their morals would 
be secure. But afterward it became, step 
by step, exclusively a school for the educa- 
tion of sons of itinerant preachers, and so it 
continues to the present. He also pro- 
jected schools for poor children at Newcas- 
*• tie and London. 

32. Give an incident which enabled Mr. 
Wesley to partly meet the expenses of his 
benevolent work. 

At one time he mentioned to Lady Max- 
well his desire and design of erecting a 
Christian school, such as would not disgrace 
the Apostolic age. The lady was so well 
pleased with the idea, she put in his hands 
five hundred pounds toward it; and on 
learning, sometime afterward, that it was 
indebted three hundred pounds, she gave 
him the entire amount to pay the debt. 
What his unparalleled plan of finance did 
not secure in small sums among the poor, 
the providence of God supplied. 

33. Give an example of Mr. Wesley* s 



WESLEY AND EAELY METHODISM. 89 



"systematic beneficence" from his own his- 
tory f 

When his own income was but thirty 
pounds a year, he gave away two pounds ; 
when it was sixty, he gave away thirty-two ; 
when it reached one hundred and twenty, he 
kept himself to his old allowance, twenty- 
eight pounds, and gave away ninety-tw^o 
pounds. It is estimated that he gave away 
in the course of his life more than one 
hundred and fifty thousand dollars. 

34. What was one of the most important 
questions ashed at the first Conference? 

" Can we have a seminary for laborers ? " 
Methodism was not yet sufficiently mature, 
especially in its finances, for the important 
design : the answer was, therefore, " If God 
spare us till another Conference." 

35. Did they continue to agitate the sub- 
ject? 

The inquiry was made at subsequent Con- 
ferences, and never abandoned till it was 
effectively answered by the establishment of 
the present two well-endowed " Theological 



90 WESLEY AXD EARLY METHODISM. 

Institutions " in England, and the three 
"Biblical Institutes" in America. Meth- 
odism commenced in a university, and has 
always, in its public capacity, zealously pro- 
moted useful knowledge and educational 
institutions. Objections to even theological 
education have been comparatively modern, 
and mostly personal. 



WESLEY AND EAELY METHODISM. 91 



CHAPTEK VII. 

1. What had teen accomplished withm 
six years from the first Conference ? 

Methodism had taken deep root among 
the colliers of Kingswood and Newcastle, 
the miners of Cornwall, the peasants of 
Yorkshire, and the drunken multitudes of 
Moorfields and Kennington Common; it 
had rescued scores of ignorant and corrupt 
men amid the vices of the camp and the 
terrors of battle. The Wesleys had visited 
"Wales, Ireland, and the north of England ; 
they had established their cause throughout 
the land, and it had already changed the 
moral aspect of much of the nation, eleva- 
ting the most degraded classes of its popu- 
lation. Tens of thousands, rescued from 
virtual heathenism, blessed them as they 
passed along their ministerial routes ; some 



92 WESLEY &NT> EARLY METHODISM. 



of their fiercest persecutors had become the 
most zealous Methodists. John Wesley, 
though preaching two or three times daily, 
beginning at five o'clock in the morning, 
traveling mostly on horseback, at the rate 
of five thousand miles a year, read contin- 
ually as he journeyed, not only in theology, 
but still more in his favorite studies of his- 
tory, antiquities, and the classic poets. 
Charles habitually indulged his love for 
lyric poetry, composing immortal odes as he 
rode along the highways from town to town, 
and mob to mob. 

2. What is said of the Wesley an sing- 
ing f 

It was a source of great power to early 
Methodism. Charles Wesley's hymns, with 
simple but effective tunes, spread every- 
where among the Societies, and hundreds, 
who cared not for the preaching, were 
charmed to the Methodist assemblies by 
their music, and among such there were 
many wonderful conversions ; thousands 
have been awakened and converted under it, 



WESLEY AND EAELY METHODISM. 93 



and have gone up to sing the song of Moses 
and the Lamb. 

3. What were Mr. Wesley's instructions 
with regard to singing ? 

" Sing all," said he ; " join with the con- 
gregation as frequently as yon can. Sing 
lustily, and with good courage. Beware 
of singing as if you were half dead, or half 
asleep, but lift up your voice with strength. 
Above all, sing spiritually. Have an eye 
to God in every word you sing. Aim at 
pleasing him ; in order to do this attend 
strictly to what you sing, and see that your 
heart is not carried away with the sound, but 
offered to God continually." 

4. What other difficulties did Mr. Wesley 
have to surmount besides those of poverty, 
unjiopularity, mohs, etc ? 

Calvinian controversy, secessions, and the 
question of separation from the Established 
Church. 

5. Did Mr. Wesley ever leave the Church 
of England ? 

No, he did not leave that Church till he 



94 WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 

was removed to the Church, triumphant. 
The Societies he formed were parts of the 
Church, and aimed not at separation, but 
greater improvement in the knowledge and 
love of God. 

6. To what two chesses of complainers 
did this expose Mr. Wesley f 

Those who thought he went too far, 
that after the people were converted he 
ought to leave them to the watchcare of 
their legal pastors, particularly where they 
were truly pious, and not organize them 
into Societies ; and those who thought he 
did not go far enough, that he ought to se- 
cede and form an independent Church. 

7. What was his reason for not leaving 
his followers to the regular clergy ? 

He thought it would prove fatal to their 
piety, as most of the clergy would treat 
them with derision. 

8. Why did he not form an independent 
Church ? 

His reason was, not that none could be 
saved out of the Established Church, but 



WESLEY AN"D EARLY METHODISM. 95 

that he could better spread scriptural holi- 
ness over the land by remaining in it than 
by seceding from it ; which was probably 
true at that time. Hence Mr. Wesley 
resisted every solicitation to closer adher- 
ence to the Church, or a greater departure 
from it. 

9. Did he require any thing as a condi- 
tion of membership in his Societies which 
was inconsistent with his relations to the 
Church, or conformity to its lawful regular 
tions ? 

He held no service in the chapels during 
the time of regular service in the Church, 
but attended that service himself, and en- 
joined upon his followers to do the same. 
]STor would he allow the preachers to ad- 
minister the sacraments, but required the 
members of the Societies to attend upon 
the sacraments in the Church. His preach- 
ing-places must not be called churches, but 
chapels ; his helpers, not clergymen, but lay 
preachers ; and the assemblies of his people, 
mere Societies. 



96 WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 



10. Did Mr, Wesley maintain this coarse 
without difficulty f 

No, nor without strong apprehensions 
that something like a separation would ulti- 
mately take place, as the repulsion of Meth- 
odists and Methodist preachers from the 
sacrament and the infliction of cruel per- 
secution from a domineering priesthood 
created a general distrust of the piety of its 
incumbents, and a consequent disinclination 
to attend upon their ministry. 

11. What did he find it necessary to do ? 

As there was a loud call for the sacra- 
ments, he found it necessary to administer 
them himself in some of the chapels, and 
to secure similar services from several of the 
regular clergy who were interested in his 
wort. 

12. Uoio did he express himself in a let- 
ter to a friend with regard to these seeming 
innovations ? 

" Nor have we taken one step farther 
than we were convinced was our bound- 
en duty. It is from a full conviction of 



WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 97 

this that we have, 1. Preached abroad. 
2. Prayed extempore. 3. Formed Societies. 
4. Permitted preachers who were not epis- 
copally ordained. And were we pushed on 
this side, were there no alternative allowed, 
we should judge it our bounden duty, rather 
wholly to separate from the Church, than 
to give up any one of these points. There- 
fore, if we cannot stop a separation without 
stopping lay preachers, we cannot stop it at 
all." 

13. What did Mr. Wesley write after- 
ward ? 

"It is plain to me that the whole work 
of God, termed Methodism, is an extraor- 
dinary dispensation of his providence. 
Therefore, I do not wonder if several things 
occur therein which do not fall under the 
ordinary rules of discipline." 

14. What two topics of interest came up 
in the Conference of 1769 ? 

Methodist missions, and the perpetuation 
of the Methodist system after Mr. Wesley's 
death. 



98 WESLEY AM) EAULY METHODISM. 



15. Give the thirteenth question at this 
Conference. 

" We have a pressing call from our brethren 
at ]STew York, who have built a preaching- 
house, to come over and help them. Ques- 
tion 13. Who is willing to go ? Ansicer. 
Richard Boardman and Joseph Pilmoor. 
2. What can we do further in token of our 
brotherly love ? Answer. 6 Let us now 
make a collection among ourselves.' This 
was immediately done, and out of it £50 
was given toward the payment of the debt, 
and £20 to the brethren for their passage." 

16. Give the origin of Methodism in 
Amer ica f 

Four years before this, in 1765, a small 
number of Methodist emigrants from Ire- 
land had landed in New York, one of them 
being Philip Embury, who had recived a 
local preacher's license. The next year, 
1766, another Methodist family followed, of 
the name of Heck. Mrs. Barbara Heck, a 
cousin of Embury, was distressed to find 
that her predecessors had greatly declined 



WESLEY AND EAELY METHODISM. 99 



in godliness. At her request Philip Em- 
bury preached in " his own hired house " to a 
congregation of five persons, this being the 
first Methodist sermon delivered in America. 
Just as this time Capt. Webb, an officer in 
the English Army, who had been converted 
under Mr. "Wesley, at Bristol, was constituted 
barrack-master at Albany. Hearing, on his 
arrival, of the little society in New York, 
he soon appeared in the midst of them in 
his regimentals ; great interest was awaken- 
ed, a chapel was built, a society was formed, 
and help was asked from England. After 
Boardman and Pilmoor arrived at Phila- 
delphia, they found Capt. Webb, and a so- 
ciety of about a hundred members, to whom, 
and to thousands more, Pilmoor commenced 
preaching from the grand stand erected 
on the race-course. " At K"ew York," 
Boardman says, "the chapel would contain 
about one thousand seven hundred hearers ; 
and about a third part of the congregation 
got in, and the other two thirds were glad 
to hear without." 



100 WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 



17. Where and when was the first Meth- 
odist church in America dedicated ? 

The old u John Street Church," in New 
York, was dedicated October 30, 1768, about 
thirty years after the birth of Methodism in 
England, and two years after its appearance 
in America. 

18. What question occupied Mr. Wesley y s 
attention as he advanced in life f 

Being now three-score years and ten, 
though his health and strength remained 
undiminished, regarding his dissolution as 
near, he deliberately applied himself to pro- 
vide for the government of the multitudes 
he had drawn around him. "Who would take 
his place, and do his work, was a question 
which occupied not his attention only, but 
that of the preachers, who already trembled 
for the unity of the body when Mr. Wes- 
ley should be called to his reward. 

19. Whom did Mr. Wesley select as his 
successor ? 

As Mr. Fletcher occupied a high place 
in the affections of the whole body of 



WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 101 

Methodists, Mr. "Wesley, in January, 1773, 
wrote him a very emphatic letter, urging 
him, by high consideration, to enter into 
the itinerant work, and be prepared to suc- 
ceed him in office. 

20. Give some extracts from this letter ? 

He writes : " What an amazing work 
God has wrought in less than forty years ! 
And it not only continues, but increases 
throughout England, Scotland, and Ireland ; 
nay, it has lately spread into New York, 
Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Carolina. But 
the wise men of the world say, ' When Mr. 
Wesley drops, then all this is at an end.' But 
who is sufficient for these things? Quali- 
fied to preside both over the preachers and 
people, he must be a man of faith and 
love, and one that has a single eye to the 
advancement of the kingdom of God. 
But has God provided one so qualified? 
Who is he ? Thou art the man ! God has 
given you a measure of loving faith, and a 
single eye to his glory. But you will nat- 
urally say, ' I am not equal to the task ; I 



102 WESLEY AND EAULY METHODISM. 

have neither grace nor gifts for such an 
employment.' Who has ? But do you not 
know Him who is able to give them ? Per- 
haps not at once, but rather day by day ; as 
each is, so shall your strength be. ' But 
this implies, 5 you may say, ' a thousand 
crosses, such as I feel I am not able to bear. 5 
You are not able to bear them now, and 
they are not now come. "Whenever they 
do come, will He not send them in due num- 
ber, weight, and measure ? And will they 
not all be for your profit that you may be a 
partaker of his holiness ? 55 

21. What was Mr. Fletchers answer ? 

Mr. Fletcher replied, with his usual mod- 
esty, declining the overture, but promising 
such assistance as he might be able to afford 
him in certain contingencies. Mr. Fletcher 
died six years before Mr. Wesley. 

22. Why has the year 1784 heen called a 
critical year in the history of Methodism ? 

1. In that year Mr. Wesley recorded in 
Ms Majesty's High Court of Chancery his 
famous "Deed of Declaration, 5 ' which es- 



WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 103 



tablished the legal settlement of the Confer- 
ence, settling the question of authority and 
government. 2. He gave to American Meth- 
odism an Episcopal organization by ordain- 
ing a bishop, Dr. Coke, and two presbyters, 
Richard "Whatcoat, and Thomas Yasey. 

23. What necessity ivas there for this 
Deed of Declaration f 

As yet there was no legal definition of 
what was meant by the term " Conference 
of the people called Methodists." It had 
not been an incorporated institution. To 
supply this defect Mr. Wesley executed 
this noted Deed. Its object was to explain 
the words, " Yearly Conference of the peo- 
ple called Methodists" and to declare " what 
persons are members of the said Confer- 
ence, and how the succession and identity 
thereof is to be continued." 

24. What was this Deed? 

Mr. Wesley named one hundred preach- 
ers, who were to constitute the legal Con- 
ference after his death, making provisions 
for the filling of vacancies, occasioned by 



104 WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 



death, superannuation, or expulsion, and 
defining their duties and powers, so as to se- 
cure the occupancy of the meeting houses, 
and other society property, to the Method- 
ists, according to the original design, and 
preserve the itinerancy forever unimpaired 
among them. 

25. What has this instrument proved to he? 

The sheet-anchor of Mr. Wesley's incom- 
parable plan, and the true interests of Meth- 
odism in every emergency. The necessity 
for such a constitution was obvious and ab- 
solute. The peculiar economy of Method- 
ism could not otherwise proceed. It must 
cease to be itinerant, must subside into Con- 
gregationalism, or else adopt some such 
organization as this. The Deed was saga- 
ciously framed, and time has well proved its 
wisdom, and the results of the plan have 
demonstrated Mr. Wesley's prudent fore- 
sight. 

26. Give the details of the second impor- 
tant event of 1784. 

Methodism had spread rapidly in America, 



WESLEY AND EAKLY METHODISM. 105 



notwithstanding the war of the Revolu- 
tion. It now numbered eighty-three 
traveling preachers, besides hundreds of 
local preachers and about fifteen thousand 
members. Many of the English clergy, on 
whom the Methodist Societies had depended 
for the sacraments, had fled from the land, 
or had entered political or military life, and 
the Episcopal Church had been generally 
disabled. Under these circumstances the 
Methodists demanded of their preachers 
the administration of the sacraments, as 
many of the Societies had been months, 
some of them years, without them. The 
demand was not only urgent, it was logical- 
ly right, but by the majority of the preach- 
ers it was not deemed expedient, therefore 
they exhorted their people to patiently wait 
until Mr. Wesley could be consulted. Mr. 
"Wesley, appreciating their situation, impor- 
tuned the authorities of the English Church 
in behalf of the Americans. He wrote to 
the Bishop of London, imploring ordination 
for a single preacher, that he might go to 



106 WESLEY ASTD EAELY METHODISM. 



America, travel among them as a presbyter, 
and give them the sacraments. But the 
request was denied, the bishop replying, 
" There are three ministers in that coun- 
try already." " What are these," said Wes- 
ley, "to watch over all that extensive 
country? I mourn for poor America, for 
the sheep scattered up and down therein; 
part of them have no shepherds at all, 
and the case of the rest is little better, for 
their shepherds pity them not." After full 
consideration and earnest prayer, Mr. Wes- 
ley resolved to take the necessary steps for 
the organization of the Societies of America 
into a separate Church. Accordingly, with 
the assistance of several clergymen in En- 
gland, he set apart Dr. Coke for the office of 
superintendent, ordaining him, according to 
the form for ordaining bishops in the Church 
of England. He also ordained two elders, 
Revs. Richard Whatcoat and Thomas Yasey, 
and sent them to America with Dr. Coke, 
to whom he gave directions to ordain Mr. 
Asbury as a joint superintendent. 



WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 107 

27. What did they do soon after their 
arrival in America ? 

They arrived in America in November, 
and were joyfully received. Having con- 
ferred with Mr. Asbury and a number of 
the preachers, a Conference was convened 
in Baltimore, on Christmas, 1784 ; a Church 
was organized, by the unanimous consent of 
the preachers present, called the " Method- 
ist Episcopal Church," and Dr. Coke and 
Mr. Asbury were elected superintendents or 
bishops. Mr. Asbury was ordained by Dr. 
Coke, assisted by the elders, Richard What- 
coat and Thomas Vasey, and also by Rev. Mr. 
Otterbein, of the German Reformed Church. 

28. Give a description of the early Meth- 
odist preachers. 

" What did they not dare ? What did 
they not sacrifice ? They were hunted and 
hooted by brutal mobs, they were pelted 
with stones, and driven from judgment-seats 
by faithless magistrates ; they were branded 
with vile epithets and endungeoned in vile 
prisons ; they were plunged in horse ponds, 



108 WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 

and impressed by recruiting sergeants for 
foreign war ; they braved the rigors of severe 
winters, and the perils of flood and forest ; 
they slumbered on hardest pillows and 
housed in lowliest hovels. But in their 
work they were joyous ; in their trials 
they were patient; in their homes they 
were contented; in their journeyings the 
woods echoed their songs ; in their pulpits 
they had power with man ; in their persecu- 
tions they prayed for their enemies ; in their 
old age they testify they have not followed 
E cunningly devised fables ;' in their death 
hour they are borne up on their shields, 
' where the wicked cease from troubling, and 
the weary are at rest. 5 And in their final 
home, ' These are they who came up out 
of great tribulation, and have washed their 
robes and made them white in the blood of 
the Lamb ; thenceforth they are before the 
throne.' " — Dr. Guard. 

29. In one respect, hoio did the latter part 
of Mr. Wesley's life differ from the former? 

His early travels were constantly inter- 



WESLEY AND EAELY METHODISM. 109 

rupted by mobs and other persecutions, 
which not only embarrassed his work, but 
often endangered his life. But God permit- 
ted him to live to command the respect and 
veneration of his greatest enemies. His 
old age was honored with all the attention 
that was safe for any man to receive. The 
churches in London were generally closed 
against him in 1738 ; but now he had more 
applications to preach in those churches, for 
the benefit of public charities, than he could 
possibly comply with. His visits to many 
places in the country created a sort of gen- 
eral festival. The people crowded around 
him as he passed along the streets, the win- 
dows were filled with eager gazers, the chil- 
dren wanted ' to catch the good man's smile,' 
which the overflowing benignity of his 
heart rendered him ever willing to bestow. 

30. Give a description of the two visits 
at Cornwall and Falmouth, forty years 
apart. 

When he first went into Cornwall, accom- 
panied by John Nelson, he plucked black- 



110 WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 

berries from the hedges to allay the crav- 
ings of hunger, and slept upon boards, 
having his saddle bags for a pillow. Now, 
he was received as an angel of God. In 
1789, visiting Falmouth, Mr. "Wesley says: 
" The last time I was here, above forty 
years ago, I was taken prisoner by an im- 
mense mob, gaping and roaring like lions. 
But how is the tide turned ! High and low 
now lined the street, from one end of the 
town to the other, out of stark love, gaping 
and staring as if the king were going by." 

31. After having secured the organiza- 
tion of Wesley an Methodism, and the estab- 
lishment of an independent Church in 
America, did Mr. Wesley retire from his 
work f 

No, he continued his labors, journeying 
and writing, after this as before, without 
much interruption of health till March 2, 
1791, when he departed this life in glorious 
hope of a blissful immortality, in the eighty- 
eighth year of his age, and the sixty-fourth 
of his ministry, leaving five hundred and 



WESLEY AND EAELY METHODISM. Ill 



fifty itinerant ministers, besides thousands 
of local preachers, and one hundred and 
forty thousand communicants in the United 
Kingdom, the British Provinces, the United 
States, and the West Indies, all cherishing 
the same faith, enjoying the same religion, 
and walking by the same rules. 

32. Give the grand total of Methodists 
and Missions in 1883. 

There are 33,385 itinerant ministers, 
77,935 local preachers, and 5,094,564 lay 
members.* 

33. Give Dr. Guard** s description of the 
present position of Methodism. 

" Of the present position of Method- 
ism, as to the numbers reached by her 
ministry the world over, we have often 
heard. Some thirteen millions listen to her 
ministrations of truth, and share in her 
pastoral oversight. The sun sets not on her 
dominion. Her people are found in every 
land, and abide in every zone. All climates 
embrace them — the winters of Hudson's 
* " Methodist Year-Book," 1884. 



112 WESLEY AND EAELY METHODISM. 

Bay and the suns of India play and beat 
upon them. They locate in forests, and 
they throng the marble city. Pacific waves 
ripple upon their shores, and peaks crowned 
with eternal snow fling their shadows o'er 
their dwellings. She is in her second cent- 
ury; and yet no wrinkle upon her brow, 
nor haze in her vision, nor stoop in her 
form, nor halt in her step gives sign of wast- 
ed energy and declining vigor. Still her 
sanctuaries are Bethesdas, and her prayer- 
meetings Bethels. Still she gathers in the 
street Arab, and sends her missionaries to 
Orient fields of toil and death. She multi- 
plies her places of worship at the rate of 
two for every day of the year. Her doc- 
trines are to-day as when Wesley died ; her 
philanthropy is as broad, her relations to 
other Churches as catholic, as when Wesley 
said, - The world is my parish, and we are 
the friends of all, the enemies of none.' 
The world needs her ; and she shall not per- 
ish ! The Churches need her ; and she shall 
not perish ! She believes still in conversion j 



WESLEY AND EAELY METHODISM. 113 

and she shall not perish ! She still holds 
forth Christ crucified ; and she shall not 
perish ! She still believes in the Holy 
Ghost, the Lord and Giver of life ; and she 
shall not perish ! Baptized into the fullness 
of the blessing of the Gospel of Christ, 
she shall move forth resplendent with every 
virtue ; all aglow with ' the dew of her 
youth ; ' bright as the sun, fair as the 
moon, and terrible as an army with ban- 
ners ! And having conquered a world for 
her Divine Head, and as she reposes within 
the mild splendors of the latter-day glory, 
even angels, as they bend o'er the scene, 
shall exclaim, 'How lovely are thy tents 
and thy dwellings, O people ; the little one 
has become a thousand, and the small one a 
strong nation ; I the Lord have done it for 
mine own name's sake. 5 " 
8 



114 WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 



Wesley's Last Text and Final Utter- 
ances. 

" Seek ye the Lord while he may be 
found ; call upon him while he is near." 

— Wesley's text for Ms last sermon. 

" I'll praise my Maker while I've breath, 
And when my voice is lost in death, 

Praise shall employ my nobler powers ; 
My days of praise shall ne'er be past, 
While life, and thought, and being last, 
Or immortality endures." 

41 To Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, 
Who sweetly all agree." 

— Wesley's last song on earth. 

" The best of all is, God is with us." 

" We thank thee, O Lord, for these and 
all thy mercies. Bless the Church and king, 
and grant us truth and peace through Jesus 
Christ our Lord, for ever and ever." 

" The Lord of hosts is with us ; the God 

of Jacob is our refuge ! Pray and praise !" 

" Farewell." 

— The last words of John Wesley. 



ARTICLES OE RELIGION. 
GENERAL RULES. 
BAPTISMAL AND CHURCH COVENANTS. 



ARTICLES OF RELIGION. 



1. What is the meaning of the words , 
" Discipline of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church f " 

It is the title of a book containing the 
doctrines, usages, government, and ritual 
of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 

2. Why is it desired that it may le found 
in the house of every Methodist f 

We ought, next to the Holy Scriptures, to 
understand the Articles of Religion and the 
rules of the Church to which we belong. 
Far from wishing any to be ignorant of the 
doctrines, or any part of the Discipline, it 
is desired that they read, mark, learn, and 
inwardly digest the whole. Again, it con- 
tains the Articles of Faith maintained, more 
or less, in part or in whole, by every Chris- 
tian Church in the world. 



118 WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 

3. What obligation does the fact of our 
being in the Church imply f 

It " implies an obligation to conform to 
her Discipline. But we are under more than 
an implied obligation. We promised, as a 
condition of being admitted to full member- 
ship, in presence of the Church assembled, 
to observe and keep her rules. And now 
consistency requires it, and the people, both 
in and out of the Church, expect us to keep 
our pledge. To violate it would involve 
our reputation and peace of mind." — Bishop 
Morris. 

4. Sow is the Discipline divided ? 

Into six parts : Part I. Origin, Doctrines, 
and Rules. Part II. Government of the 
Church. Part III. Administration of Dis- 
cipline. Part IV. Educational and Benevo- 
lent Institutions. Part V. Temporal Econ- 
omy. Part YI. Ritual of the Church. 

5. What were our Articles of Religion 
taken from, and hoio are they divided ? 

They were abridged and slightly altered 
from the Thirty-nine Articles of the Church 



WESLEY AND EAELY METHODISM. 119 

of England. They are divided into twenty- 
five sections. 

6. Give Articles I, II, III, IV, and V of 
our faith. 

I. Of Faith in the Holy Trinity. — There 
is but one living and true God, everlasting, 
without body or parts, of infinite power, 
wisdom, and goodness ; the maker and pre- 
server of all things, visible and invisible. 
And in unity of this Godhead there are 
three persons, of one substance, power, and 
eternity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy 
Ghost. 

II. Of the Wordy or Son of God, who 
was made very Man. — The Son, who is the 
Word of the Father, the very and eternal 
God, of one substance with the Father, 
took man's nature in the womb of the 
blessed Yirgin ; so that two whole and per. 
feet natures, that is to say, the Godhead 
and manhood, were joined together in one 
person, never to be divided, whereof is one 
Christ, very God and very man, who truly 
suffered, was crucified, dead and buried, to 



120 WESLEY A^D EARLY METHODISM. 

reconcile his Father to us, and to be a sacri- 
fice, not only for original guilt, but also for 
the actual sins of men. 

III. Of the Resurrection of Christ. — 
Christ did truly rise again from the dead, 
and took again his body, with all things ap- 
pertaining to the perfection of man's nature, 
wherewith, he ascended into heaven, and 
there sitteth until he return to judge all 
men at the last day. 

IV. Of the Holy Ghost— -The Holy 
Ghost, proceeding from the Father and the 
Son, is of one substance, majesty, and glory 
with the Father and the Son, very and 
eternal God. 

V. The Sufficiency of the Holy Scrip- 
tures for Salvation. — The Holy Scriptures 
contain all things necessary to salvation ; so 
that whatsoever is not read therein, nor 
may be proved thereby, is not to be required 
of any man that it should be believed as an 
article of faith, or be thought requisite or 
necessary to salvation. In the name of the 
Holy Scripture we do understand those 




WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 121 



canonical books of the Old and New Tes- 
tament of whose authority was never any 
doubt in the Church. The names of the 
canonical books are — 

Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, 
Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, The 
First Book of Samuel, The Second Book 
of Samuel, The First Book of Kings, The 
Second Book of Kings, The First Book of 
Chronicles, The Second Book of Chronicles, 
The Book of Ezra, The Book of Nehemiah, 
the Book of Esther, the Book of J ob, The 
Psalms, The Proverbs, Ecclesiastes or the 
Preacher, Cantica or Songs of Solomen, 
Four Prophets the greater, Twelve Prophets 
the less. 

All the books of the New Testament, as 
they are commonly received, we do receive 
and account canonical. 

7. Gwe Articles YI. and YIL 
VI. Of the Old Testament— -The Old 
Testament is not contrary to the New ; for 
both in the Old and New Testament ever- 
lasting life is offered to mankind by Christ, 



122 WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 

who is the only Mediator between God and 
Man, being both God and Man. Where- 
fore they are not to be heard who feign 
that the old fathers did look on]y for transi- 
tory promises. Although the law given 
from God by Moses, as touching c^emonies 
and rites, doth not bin(J Christians, nor 
ought the civil precepts thereof of necessity 
be received in any commonwealth; yet, 
notwithstanding, no Christian whatsoever is 
free from the obedience of the command- 
ments which are called moral. 

YII. Of Origmal or Birth Sin. — Orig- 
inal sin standeth not in the following of 
Adam, (as the Pelagians do vainly talk,) 
but it is the corruption of the nature of 
every man, that naturally is engendered of 
the offspring of Adam, whereby man is 
very far gone from original righteousness, 
and of his own nature inclined to evil, and 
that continually. 

8. Give Articles YIII, IX, X, and XI. 

VIII. Of Free Will— The condition of 
man after the fall of Adam is such that he 



WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 123 

cannot turn and prepare himself, by his own 
natural strength and works, to faith, and 
calling upon God ; wherefore we have no 
power to do good works, pleasant and ac- 
ceptable to God, without the grace of God 
by Christ preventing us, [surrounding us 
and leading us,] that we may have a good 
will, and working with us, when we have 
that good will. 

IX. Of the Justification of Man— We 
are accounted righteous before God only 
for the merit of our Lord and Saviour Jesus 
Christ by faith, and not for our own works 
or deservings. Wherefore, that we are jus- 
tified by faith only, is a most wholesome 
doctrine, and very full of comfort. 

X. Of Good Works. — Although good 
works, which are the fruits of faith, and 
follow after justification, cannot put away 
our sins, and endure the severity of God's 
judgments ; yet are they pleasing and 
acceptable to God in Christ, and spring 
out of a true and lively faith, insomuch 
that by them a lively faith may be as 



124 WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 



evidently known as a tree is discerned by 
its fruit. 

XI. Of Works of Supererogation. — Volun- 
tary works — besides, over, and above God's 
commandments — wliicli are called works of 
supererogation, cannot be tanglit without 
arrogancy and impiety. For by them men 
do declare that they do not only render 
unto God as much as they are bound to do, 
but that they do more for his sake than of 
bound en duty is required : whereas Christ 
saith plainly, When ye have done all that is 
commanded you, say, We are unprofitable 
servants. 

9. Give Articles XII, XIII, XIV, and 
XV. 

XII. Of Sin after Justification. — Not 
every sin willingly committed after justifi- 
cation is the sin against the Holy Ghost, 
and unpardonable. Wherefore, the grant of 
repentance is not to be denied to such as 
fall into sin after justification : after we have 
received the Holy Ghost, we may depart 
from grace given, and fall into sin, and, by 



WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 125 

the grace of God, rise again and amend our 
lives. And therefore they are to be con- 
demned who say they can no more sin as 
long as they live here ; or deny the place of 
forgiveness to such as truly repent. 

XIII. Of the Church, — The visible 
Church of Christ is a congregation of faith- 
ful men, in which the pure word of God is 
preached, and the sacraments duly adminis- 
tered, according to Christ's ordinance, in all 
those things that of necessity are requisite 
to the same. 

XIY. Of Purgatory. — The Komish doc- 
trine concerning purgatory, pardon, wor- 
shiping and adoration, as well of images as 
of relics, and also invocation of saints, is a 
fond thing, vainly invented, and grounded 
upon no warrant of Scripture, but repug- 
nant to the word of God. 

XV. Of Speaking in the Congregation 
in such a Tongue as the People under- 
stand. — It is a thing plainly repugnant to 
the word of God, and the custom of the 
primitive Church, to have public prayer in 



126 WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 

the Church, or to minister the sacraments, 
in a tongue not understood by the people, 

10. Give Articles XVI, XVII, XVIII, 
and XIX. 

XVI. Of the Sacraments. — Sacraments 
ordained of Christ are not only badges or 
tokens of Christian men's profession, but 
rather they are certain signs of grace, and 
God's good will toward us, by the which he 
doth work invisibly in us, and doth not only 
quicken, but also strengthen and confirm, 
our faith in him. 

There are two sacraments ordained of 
Christ our Lord in the Gospel ; that is to 
say, Baptism and the Supper of the Lord. 

Those five commonly called sacraments, 
that is to say, confirmation, penance, orders, 
matrimony, and extreme unction, are not to 
be counted for sacraments of the Gospel, be- 
ing such as have partly grown out of the cor- 
rupt following of the apostles, and partly 
are states of life allowed in the Scriptures, 
but yet have not the like nature of Bap- 
tism and the Lord's Supper, because they 



WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 127 

have not any visible sign or ceremony or- 
dained of God. 

The sacraments were not ordained of 
Christ to be gazed upon, or to be carried 
about ; but that we should duly use them. 
And in such only as worthily [reverently or 
considerately] receive the same, they have 
a wholesome effect or operation : but they 
that receive them unworthily, [irreverently 
or inconsiderately] purchase to themselves 
condemnation, as Paul saith, 1 Cor. xi, 29. 

XVII. Of Baptism, — Baptism is not only 
a sign of profession, and mark of difference, 
whereby Christians are distinguished from 
others that are not baptized ; but it is also a 
sign of regeneration, or the new birth. The 
baptism of young children is to be retained 
in the Church. 

XVIII. Of the LorcPs Supper.— The Sup- 
per of the Lord is not only a sign of the 
love that Christians ought to have among 
themselves one to another, but rather is a 
sacrament of our redemption by Christ's 
death ; insomuch that, to such as rightly, 



128 WESLEY AOT> EAELY METHODISM. 

worthily, and with faith receive the same, 
the bread which we break is a partaking of 
the body of Christ ; and likewise the cup of 
blessing is a partaking of the blood of Christ. 

Transubstantiation, or the change of the 
substance of bread and wine in the Sup- 
per of our Lord, cannot be proved by Holy 
Writ, but is repugnant to the plain words 
of Scripture, overthroweth the nature of a 
sacrament, and hath given occasion to many 
superstitions. 

The body of Christ is given, taken, and 
eaten in the Supper, only after a heavenly 
and spiritual manner. And the means 
whereby the body of Christ is received and 
eaten in the Supper, is faith. 

The sacrament of the Lord's Supper was 
not by Christ's ordinance reserved, carried 
about, lifted up, or worshiped. 

XIX. Of loth Kinds.— The cup of the 
Lord is not to be denied to the lay people ; 
for both the parts of the Lord's Supper, by 
Christ's ordinance and commandment, ought 
to be administered to all Christians alike. 



WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 129 

11. Gwe Articles XX, XXI, and XXII. 

XX. Of the one Oblation of Christ, 
finished upon the Cross. — The offering of 
Christ, once made, is that perfect redemp- 
tion, propitiation, and satisfaction, for all 
the sins of the whole world, both original 
and actual ; and there is none other satisfac- 
tion for sin but that alone. Wherefore the 
sacrifices of masses, in the which it is com- 
monly said that the priest doth offer Christ 
for the quick [living] and the dead, to have 
remission of pain or guilt, is a blasphemous 
fable and dangerous deceit. 

XXI. Of the Marriage of Ministers. — 
The ministers of Christ are not commanded 
by God's law either to vow the estate of 
single life, or to abstain from marriage: 
therefore it is lawful for them, as for all 
other Christians, to marry at their own dis- 
cretion, as they shall judge the same to 
serve best to godliness. 

XXII. Of the Rites and Ceremonies of 

Churches. — It is not necessary that rites 

and ceremonies should in all places be the 
9 



130 WESLEY AND EAELY METHODISM. 



same, or exactly alike ; for they have been 
always different, and may be changed ac- 
cording to the diversity of countries, times, 
and men's manners, so that nothing be or- 
dained against God's word. "Whosoever, 
through his private judgment, willingly and 
purposely doth openly break the rites and 
ceremonies of the Church to which he be- 
longs, which are not repugnant to the word 
of God, and are ordained and approved by 
common authority, ought to be rebuked 
openly, that others may fear to do the like, 
as one that offendeth against the common 
order of the Church, and woundeth the 
consciences of weak brethren. 

Every particular Church [denomination] 
may ordain, change, or abolish rites and 
ceremonies, so that all things may be done 
to edification. 

12. Give Articles XXIII, XXIV, and 
XXV. 

XXIII. Of the Eiders of the United 
States of America. — The President, the 
Congress, the General Assemblies, the Gov- 



WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 131 

ernors, and the Councils of State, as the 
delegates of the people, are the rulers of the 
United States of America, according to the 
division of power made to them, by the 
Constitution of the United States, and by 
the Constitutions of their respective States. 
And the said States are a sovereign and 
independent nation, and ought not to be 
subject to any foreign jurisdiction. 

XXIV. Of Christian Men's Goods.— 
The riches and goods of Christians are not 
common, as touching the right, title, and 
possession of the same, as some do falsely 
boast. Notwithstanding, every man ought, 
of such things as he possesseth, liberally to 
give alms to the poor, according to his 
ability. 

XXV. Of a Christian Man ] s Oath. — As 
we confess that vain and rash swearing is 
forbidden Christian men by our Lord Jesus 
Christ and James his apostle ; so we judge 
that the Christian religion doth not prohibit, 
but that a man may swear when the magis- 
trate requireth, in a cause of faith and 



132 WESLEY AND EAELY METHODISM. 

charity, so it be done according to the 
prophet's teaching, in justice, judgment, 
and truth. 

» < » « 

THE GENERAL RULES. 



13. Give the rise of the United Society^ 
first in Europe, and then in America. 

In the latter end of the year 1739 eight 
or ten persons came to Mr. Wesley in Lon- 
don, who appeared to be deeply convinced 
of sin, and earnestly groaning for redemp- 
tion. They desired, as did two or three 
more the next day, that he would spend 
some time with them in prayer, and advise 
them how to flee from the wrath to come, 
which they saw continually hanging over 
their heads. That he might have more time 
for this great work, he appointed a day when 
they might all come together ; which from 



WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 133 

thenceforward they did every week, namely, 
on Thursday, in the evening. To these, 
and as many more as desired to join with 
them, (for their number increased daily,) he 
gave those advices from time to time which 
he judged most needful for them ; and they 
always concluded their meeting with prayer 
suited to their several necessities. 

14. What is a Methodist Society ? 

A company of men having the form and 
seeking the power of godliness, united in 
order to pray together, to receive the word 
of exhortation, and to watch over one an- 
other in love, that they may help each other 
to worJc out their salvation. 

15. That this may more easily be dis- 
cerned, how is each Society divided f 

Into classes about twelve to each class, 
one of whom is styled the leader ; who is to 
meet them once a week for religious inquiry 
and conversation. 

16. What is previously required of those 
who desire admission to these Societies f 

Only one condition — a desire to flee from 



134 WESLEY AND EAKLY METHODISM. 

the wrath to come, and to be saved from 
their sins. But wherever this is really fixed 
in the soul, it will be shown by its fruits. 

17. How is this desire of salvation to he 
shown first ? 

By doing no harm, by avoiding evil of 
every kind, especially that which is most 
generally practiced ; such as, 

1. ) The taking the name of God in vain. 

2. ) The profaning the day of the Lord, 
either by doing ordinary work therein, or by 
buying or selling. 

3. ) Drunkenness, buying or selling spirit- 
uous liquors, or drinking them, unless in 
cases of extreme necessity. 

4. ) Slaveholding ; buying or selling slaves. 

5. ) Fighting, quarreling, brawling, brother 
going to law with brother ; returning evil 
for evil, or railing for railing ; the using 
many words in buying or selling. 

6. ) The buying or selling goods that have 
not paid the duty. 

7. ) The giving or taking things on usury, 
that is, unlawful interest. 



WESLEY AND EAELY METHODISM. 135 

8. ) Uncharitable or unprofitable conver- 
sation ; particularly speaking evil of magis- 
trates or of ministers. 

9. ) Doing to others as we would not they 
should do unto us. 

10. ) Doing what we know is not for the 
glory of God ; as, — the putting on of gold 
and costly apparel. 

11. ) The taking such diversions as cannot 
be used in the name of the Lord Jesus. 

12. ) The singing those songs, or reading 
those books, which do not tend to the knowl- 
edge or love of God. 

13. ) Softness and needless self-indulgence. 

14. ) Laying up treasure upon earth. 

15. ) Borrowing without a probability of 
paying ; or taking up goods without a prob- 
ability of paying for them. 

18. How is this desire of salvation to he 
shown secondly ? 

By doing good ; by being in every kind 
merciful after their power ; as they have 
opportunity, doing good of every possible 
sort, and, as far as possible, to all men : 



136 WESLEY AXD EARLY METHODISM. 

1. ) To their bodies of the ability which 
God giveth, by giving food to the hungry, 
by clothing the naked, by visiting or help- 
ing them that are sick or in prison. 

2. ) To their souls, by instructing, reprov- 
ing, or exhorting all we have any intercourse 
with; trampling under foot that enthusias- 
tic doctrine, that " we are not to do good 
unless our hearts be free to it? 

3. ) By doing good, especially to them 
that are of the household of faith, or groan- 
ing so to be ; employing them preferably to 
others, buying one of another, helping each 
other in business ; and so much the more 
because the world will love its own and 
them only. 

4. ) By all possible diligence and frugal- 
ity, that the Gospel be not blamed. 

5. ) By running with patience the race 
which is set before them, denying them- 
selves, and taking up their cross daily ; sub- 
mitting to bear the reproach of Christ, to 
be as the filth and offscouring of the world ; 
and looking that men should say all man- 



WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 137 

ner of evil of them falsely for the Lord 
sake. 

19. How is this desire for salvation to le 
shown thirdly ? 

By attending upon all the ordinances of 
God ; such are, 

1. ) The public worship of God. 

2. ) The ministry of the word, either read 
or expounded. 

3. ) The Supper of the Lord. 

4. ) Family and private prayer. 

5. ) Searching the Scriptures. 

6. ) Fasting or abstinence. 



138 WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 



BAPTISMAL AND CHURCH COVE- 
NANTS- 



20. What are the conditions of mem- 
hership into the Methodist Episcojxd 
Church f 

In order to prevent improper persons 
from insinuating themselves into the 
Church, — 

Let no one be received into the Church 
until such person has been at least six 
months on trial, and has been recommended 
by the Leaders and Stewards' Meeting, and 
has been baptized, and shall, on examina- 
tion by the minister in charge before the 
Church, give satisfactory assurances both of 
the correctness of his faith and of his wil- 
lingness to observe and keep the rules of 
the Church. Nevertheless, if a member in 
good standing in any other orthodox Church 



WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 139 

shall desire to unite with us, such applicant 
may, by giving satisfactory answers to the 
usual inquiries, be received at once into full 
fellowship. 

21. In order to be more exact in receiving 
and excluding members, what is done ? 

The preacher in charge shall, at every 
Quarterly Meeting, read the names of those 
that are received into the Church, and also 
those that are excluded therefrom. 

22. What is meant by probationers ? 
Probationers are those who have made 

application for membership — their names 
are enrolled on the class books and on the 
records of the Church as probationers. 
They have all the privileges of the various 
means of grace, and at the end of six 
months, having acquainted themselves with 
the Discipline of the Church and with its 
doctrines, and the Church having become 
acquainted with the life and habits of the 
candidates, if approved, they are recom- 
mended by the leaders' meetings to be re- 
ceived into full connection. 



140 WESLEY AKD EARLY METHODISM. 



23. What do they do if they desire ad- 
mission at the end of their probation ? 

They come before the Church, answer 
before the congregation questions touching 
their faith and their approval of the econ- 
omy of the Church, and are then received 
by a simple yet solemn ceremony into full 
membership. 

24. How may the baptismal vow be sum- 
marized f 

In three words, namely, 1.) Renuncia- 
tion. 2.) Faith. 3.) Obedience. 

25. Repeat the first part of the baptis- 
mal vow. 

Renunciation. — I renounce the devil and 
all his works, the vain pomp and glory of 
the world, with all covetous desires of the 
same, and the carnal desires of the flesh, so 
that I will not follow nor be led by them. 

26. Repeat the second part of the baptis- 
mal vow. 

Faith. — I believe in God the Father 
Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and 
in Jesus Christ his only-begotten Son our 



WESLEY AND EARLY METHODISM. 141 

Lord ; who was conceived by the Holy 
Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered 
under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead 
and buried ; the third day he rose again 
from the dead, and ascended into heaven, 
and sitteth on the right hand of God the 
Father Almighty; and from thence shall 
come again at the end of the world, to judge 
the quick and the dead. 

I believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy 
catholic [or universal] Church, the com- 
munion of saints, the remission of sins, the 
resurrection of the body, and everlasting 
life after death. 

27. Give the third part. 

Obedience. — I will obediently keep God's 
holy will and commandments, and will walk 
in the same all the days of my life, God 
being my helper. 

28. Repeat the Church covenant. 

Here, in the presence of God and of this 
congregation, I renew the solemn promise 
contained in the baptismal covenant, ratify- 
ing and confirming the same, and acknowl- 



142 WESLEY ANT> EARLY METHODISM. 

edging inyself bound faithfully to observe 
and keep it. I here profess saving faith in 
the Lord Jesus Christ. I believe in the 
doctrines of Holy Scripture, as set forth in 
the Articles of Religion of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church. I will cheerfully be 
governed by the rules of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church, hold sacred the ordi- 
nances of God, and endeavor, as much as 
in me lies, to promote the welfare of my 
brethren and the advancement of the Re- 
deemer's kingdom. I will contribute of 
my earthly substance, according to my abil- 
ity, to the support of the Gospel and the 
various benevolent enterprises of the 
Church. 

29. What are the regular Benevolent Col- 
lections of the Church f 

There are seven : 1.) Missions. 2.) Su- 
perannuated Preachers. 3.) Church Exten- 
sion. 4.) Sunday-School Union. 5.) Tract 
Society. 6.) Freedmen's Aid. 7.) Educa- 
tion. 



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